The latest round of pre-season friendlies has been and gone, with many of England’s clubs getting their final licks in before a return to competitive action next week.
On Sunday, Premier League side Sunderland tested themselves against top-flight hopefuls Wrexham, while relegated Burnley faced Serie A side Torino.
Liverpool were in action later on against Leeds, and you can find a full report of that clash in Chicago right here on 101GreatGoals at full-time.
Wrexham 0-1 Sunderland
Regis Le Bris was again without Jocelin Ta Bi, who remains unable to travel to the United States because of visa issues, while Wilson Isidor returned to the UK for personal reasons. Robin Roefs made his first start of pre-season, and Noah Sadiki and Habib Diarra also came into the side.
Wrexham, meanwhile, made seven changes, with former Sunderland loanees Callum Doyle and Nathan Broadhead both starting.
After an early chance for Romaine Mundle, Sunderland took control and went ahead in the 34th minute.
Brian Brobbey held up Trai Hume’s pass before laying the ball into the path of Nordi Mukiele, who calmly swept home after already testing Arthur Okonkwo earlier in the half.
Wrexham thought they had equalised almost immediately, but Broadhead’s close-range finish was ruled out for offside.
Both managers made changes at the break, and Sunderland continued to threaten. Substitute Nilson Angulo struck the crossbar within minutes of coming on, while Brobbey remained a constant menace as he created another chance for Hume.
Le Bris then rotated heavily on the hour, introducing Anthony Patterson, Alan Browne, Simon Adingra and Leo Hjelde among eight substitutions.
Patterson was called into action twice, comfortably denying Broadhead and Lewis O’Brien to preserve Sunderland’s lead.
Burnley 0-1 Torino
Burnley ended pre-season without a victory after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Torino at Turf Moor, with Ali Dembele’s first-half goal the only strike of the contest.
The Clarets started brightly and should have taken an early lead when Zian Flemming fired wide after Jacob Bruun Larsen and Hannibal combined to win possession high up the pitch. Torino soon threatened themselves, but Max Weiss produced an excellent save to deny Giovanni Simeone in a one-on-one.
The visitors broke the deadlock in the 19th minute as Eybi Njie squared for Dembele to tap home from close range.
Nicky Hayen’s side struggled to break down a disciplined Torino defence after falling behind, despite creating several promising moments. Burnley continued to push for an equaliser but lacked the cutting edge to find a way through.
