Wednesday, 22 July 2009

Thailand hold Liverpool

Liverpool drew 1-1 against Thailand in a pre-season friendly at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.

Ryan Babel (pictured) put Liverpool ahead on six minutes, but a well worked Panupong Sutee strike on 72 minutes gave Peter Reid's Thailand the draw.

Before a packed crowd of 70,000, Liverpool started brightly and deservedly took the lead early on.

Jamie Carragher was the architect, sliding the ball into the path of Babel, whose early side-footed finish found the bottom corner.

Dirk Kuyt went close with a long-range effort midway through the half, but for all Liverpool's possession they struggled to create clear-cut chances.

Reid's Thailand side had their only real chance of the half late on, when Datsakorn Thonglao's free-kick fizzed over the bar.

But they pulled level midway through the second half when Sutee played a neat one-two, drove into the box and clipped a left-foot finish past Diego Cavalieri.

The goal prompted Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez to introduce Fernando Torres and the Spanish striker almost made an immediate impression.

Torres collected the ball with his first touch and drove forward before drawing a smart save with a low drive.

Liverpool pressed for a winner, but Thailand held on in driving rain to secure a draw.

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