Suarez all the rage as Pool end Thai tour

Luis Suarez came off the bench as Liverpool wrapped up their pre-season tour with a 3-0 defeat of the Thailand national team in Bangkok yesterday.

Philippe Coutinho, new signing Iago Aspas and captain Steven Gerrard were all on target in a comfortable victory.

Yet it was the presence of striker Suarez, the subject of continuing speculation over his future after two rejected bids from Arsenal, which will grab most attention.

The Uruguay international came on for the last 29 minutes and hit the crossbar.

It was his second successive substitute appearance on the tour having linked up with the squad late due to an extended break after the Confederations Cup.

Coutinho opened the scoring after 11 minutes before setting up Aspas soon after the break.

Gerrard added the third with a neat dink over the goalkeeper after 59 minutes.

Gerrard also hit the woodwork while Jordan Henderson had an effort cleared off the line.

Newcastle ran out 1-0 winners over Championship outfit Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

Shola Ameobi sealed the win with an acrobatic strike after five minutes as Alan Pardew’s Magpies rewarded more than 2,000 travelling fans with a victory.

Fellow Premier League outfit Fulham slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Werder Bremen at the Weser-Stadion.

Nils Petersen settled the encounter with the only goal after 55 minutes as the Cottagers signed off with a defeat before jetting off to their high-altitude camp in Austria.