Of course they didn't as Manchester City ran out 2-0 winners against Unai Emrey's side. Raheem Sterling, criticized during the summer for 'poor' England performances, got on the score sheet. It is this player I wish to talk about today.
Comments made by Ian Wright on Sunday evening were of interest to me. Talking on his BBC 5 live football he, and Chris Sutton, were considering why Raheem is subject to such critical reporting. Ian Wright said it was racism but is that solely the reason? Certainly there's an aspect of that, but I think it stems from something more.
Sterling joined Liverpool from QPR in February 2012. He made his first team appearance as substitute the very next month, making him the third youngest to pull on a Liverpool shirt for the senior side.
In two years he had played in Europe for the side, and been on the shortlist for the PFA's Young Player of the Year award. He was named Liverpool Chartered player of the month for April and named Liverpool's Young Player of the Year.
Before leaving for Manchester City, Raheem had played in 95 League games for Liverpool and scored 18 goals. In all competitions the stats would show that he played 129 times for the Reds and scored 23 goals. A goal every five games essentially.
In fact, before signing for Manchester City, all his accolades had been personal. Liverpool Young player of the Year now twice along with the Golden Boy award in 2014. It is this last one which is interesting in particular as the Golden Boy award is one in which Sports Journalists recognize talent. It is not just England though, with players under the age of 21 AND playing in one of Europe's top flights eligible. Raheem was the first Englishman to win this award since Wayne Rooney in 2004.
The murky waters began for Raheem when he rejected a new contract. Fans booed him as he received that second Young Player of the Year award and again on International duty. According to Brendan Rodgers, the manager at the time, Raheems new contract was an amazing offer of ￡100k a week.
Deciding to put the contract negotiations off until the end of the season it all suddenly came to a head with an unsanctioned interview. Raheem, likely ill-advised, spoke with the BBC to clarify his position. Citing he still had two years of his current contract left he was adamant it was not about money.
Then came Manchester City with an official offer of ￡30 million, which was rejected. A second of ￡40 million was also rejected with Liverpool stating that a player they wouldn't pay more than ￡100k a week was now worth ￡50 million!
In July of 2015, and after being asked to be left out of Liverpool's tour of Asia, Manchester City got their man. And this is where the attacks on Raheem Sterling character escalated. It seemed impossible that Raheem could possibly choose little Manchester City over the mighty Liverpool for footballing reasons! Therefore it must be money motivated, right?
Well he has gone on to win a Premier League trophy and League Cup in his time already at Manchester City. These successes though have come alongside Raheem's own performances improving under the watchful eye of Pep Guardiola.
Already he has scored almost double the amount of League goals as he did while at Liverpool, and he's only played three more games. Overall his statistics show he has played 141 games for Manchester City and scored 45 goals. Again almost double the strike rate in only a few more games. Yet he still gets that critique following him.
It's not just because he is black though. Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford are both black and both were guilty of missing chances at this years World Cup. The media didn't jump on their backs, nor portray either as money motivated as they do Raheem.
Rashford, a local lad, was born in Wythenshawe and plays for Manchester United. Jesse Lingard is similar to Rashford in respects he is English born and plays for United. Even Dele Alli, who has been accused of going down in the area too easily doesn't get the same treatment off the field as Raheem.
Like John Barnes before him, Raheem was born in Jamaica and not England and both played for Liverpool. And like Barnes, Sterling gets abused every time he puts on an England shirt. Unlike Barnes though, he left Liverpool before he had reached his full potential, moving to a side without the same European and domestic prowess of the Merseyside Reds!
Now he faces judgement with everything he does outside the field of play. Buying a house for his Mother, donating a significant amount to the Grenfel Tower fire victims are all sacrificed for stories regarding his new tattoo and other transgressions young men all up and down the country may also make.
Xenophobia, Racism and an incorrect perception of this young mans character is supplied to the general public who lap it up, and it clouds their judgment of the man. For example in England's game against Sweden in the World Cup, Raheem was voted England's worst player by a BBC online poll.
The English public, a country which invented the game, rated Raheem worse than the three substitutes who came on, including club team mate Fabian Delph. Eric Dier, who was on for the final five minutes got a higher rating. Even Marcus Rashford got a higher rating, and he came on for Sterling in the first minute of stoppage time to see the game out.
Yet before half time he had two chances, one of which was blocked after slipping between two defenders. The other resulted in an England corner, something the set piece kings of the World Cup would have enjoyed attacking. Goals aside, Raheem was continually probing and making runs in behind the back line which went unnoticed. England more focused on ball retention than penetration, but hey, that's probably Sterling's fault too.
First game of the new season, first goal for Raheem. The guy needs to get better with his final decision, but his general play is outstanding. He will become the focus of some frustrations for Manchester City fans as the season goes on, and I am sure he will miss golden chances. On Sunday so did Sergio Aguero and so have others and so will others continue.
His greatest test will be how he reacts to the two games (at least) at Liverpool, where the venom is always so potent and over the top. Either way, I will support the guy, frustrating as he can be at times, because he was so good last campaign and he's still only 23!
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