LFC Tour 2016: Day one

LFC Tour 2016: Day One

Welcome to Liverpoolfc.com's 2016 LFC Tour live blog. We'll be with Jürgen Klopp and his players and staff every step of the way as they make their way across the pond to the United States.

The Reds will face Chelsea and AC Milan as part of the International Champions Cup (Want tickets? Click here!) while there's also a stop in St Louis scheduled to tackle AS Roma before returning to Merseyside.

So, make sure you're following our live blogs throughout each day over the next couple of weeks as we're the only place you'll be able to take an exclusive behind-the-scenes peek into the Reds' tour - and get involved by Tweeting us using #LFCTourBlog.

Remember, all the games are available on LFCTV and LFCTV GO. For full details, click here.

We sign off day one of Liverpool's 2016 pre-season tour with a free video from training in the United States. See shots of the session below.

If you have enjoyed today's rolling coverage of the team's stay in California, stay logged on to Liverpoolfc.com for much, much more.

Danny's diary

For the duration of our tour of the USA, Liverpoolfc.com have enlisted Danny Ings to pen a regular diary offering an exclusive insight into his experiences on the West Coast. In his first entry, the striker explained what he hopes to achieve over the next couple of weeks...

"There will be loads of hard work to do here while we’re on tour and when we’re getting on that plane back to Liverpool next month, I want to be in the best shape possible after it all.

"I feel with the heat out here, the amount of sessions and the work that will be on for us, there is every ingredient to help me do that. I won’t be happy with myself if I don’t come back home in the best shape I can be in."

Read Danny's first diary entry in full here.

Reds visit Alcatraz

Liverpool's players and staff took a visit to the historical Alcatraz Island on Thursday afternoon. Take a look at our full gallery here.

Some great footage below from inside the LFC plane as it touched down in San Jose on Thursday morning. Not a bad view beyond the wing!

Ahead of Liverpool's trip to the United States, we spoke to Brian Montano, chair of the Reds' official Los Angeles Supporters' Club, to see what it'll mean to him and his fellow members to see Jürgen Klopp and his men take on Chelsea at the Rose Bowl next week.

"It still hasn't quite sunk in! All of us dream of going to Anfield but only some of us can make the journey. So, for the club to be visiting our city is something special. It took us a while to come to terms that one of the sport's greatest players, Steven Gerrard, would be moving to LA! Absolutely bananas, that."

Read what Brian had to say in full here.

Here's a free video of Liverpoool arriving in the USA earlier today for you to enjoy...

Reds fan Kevin Brodie sent us this brilliant photo of his son meeting Jürgen Klopp this morning.

He did so by Tweeting us using the hashtag #LFCTourBlog - and you can get in touch with us the same way.

Want to see our full gallery of photos from this morning's training session? Of course you do. Well, click here.

Gary Macca, Gary, Gary Macca...

We caught up with club ambassador Gary McAllister earlier this morning for a quick chat.

The Scot was in typically good spirits and explained why this tour will be good for Liverpool’s preparations for 2016-17.

“The journey was good. It was a long trip and the players had come off the back of a game, but the plane was excellent and we all managed to get a good sleep, so we’ve arrived here pretty fresh. We’re looking forward to it. There’ll be three very good games, which will be great challenges and the ideal games you need before a big season.

“In the little chats [I’ve had] with Jürgen, I think he’s happy with the way the new guys have settled in. The lads from the England squad have now joined us and the boys from the Belgium squad come in tomorrow, so we’re now getting to see a nice coming together of the whole squad – it looks big and it looks powerful.”

University life

The boss oversees Liverpool's first training session of their 2016 USA tour earlier this morning.

Here's Ragnar!

New signing Klavan takes part in his first training session as a Liverpool player.

Here are some more shots of the Reds' England quintet undergoing their first training session of the summer this morning after they met up with the Liverpool squad in Palo Alto this morning.

Look who's back in training...

Jordan Henderson, Daniel Sturridge, Nathaniel Clyne and Adam Lallana train at Stanford University this morning as they begin pre-season with the Reds. They've also been joined by James Milner.

More photos to follow.

It won't be long until this guy - who signed for the Reds during their last visit to America in 2014 - joins this year's tour...

"Everybody has told me how big the club is and you get a feel of how big it is when you are in places like Asia and America, so I’m excited by this."

Jürgen Klopp on his anticipation for this tour in America. Click here to read more from the manager.

Tickets still on sale

Fancy watching the Reds in action out here in the USA? Well, there are still some tickets left for the games against Chelsea (Rose Bowl, Pasadena) and AC Milan (Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara).

Click here for sale details.

Lucas Leiva has travelled out to the United States with Liverpool's tour party, but the Reds are still waiting to discover the extent of the injury he sustained against Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night.

Jürgen Klopp told LFCTV post-match: "It’s a muscle injury so we have to wait. But things like this happen - that’s how it is. It’s always unlucky and never in the right moment, but we have to wait for the exact assessment.”

See the full gallery of the moment the LFC players stepped off the plane in California today by clicking here.

How fresh does Philippe Coutinho look after an 11-hour flight, by the way?

Coming in to land...

One photographer captured these images of the moment the LFC team plane landed here in America earlier this morning.

Comedian and Kopite John Oliver explains why you should buy tickets to see Liverpool on their US Tour this summer...

As we've mentioned, new signing Ragnar Klavan was among the players who boarded the team plane at John Lennon Airport in the early hours of Thursday morning - but before that, we caught up with him at Melwood and asked him to take our 'Getting to Know...' quiz.

See his answers below in our amusing free clip...

It's not just the first-team squad and staff here in Palo Alto - there's also three (soon to be four) of our club legends with us in the form of Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler and Gary McAllister.

Acting in the role of club ambassadors, they'll also be joined by everyone's favourite sangria drinker, Luis Garcia.

So, what's in store for Liverpool's players today then on day one of their visit to the United States?

Well, we have the answers. The lads are currently gathering in the hotel reception ready to head out for their first training session Stateside.

Given it's less than 24 hours since the Reds were in action at Huddersfield, it'll be a light session at Stanford University this morning. After that, they'll return to the team hotel for some lunch. There's also a squad visit to Alcatraz planned for later today.

The players have just arrived at the hotel to be greeted by none other than Daniel Sturridge and Nathaniel Clyne. 

Great to have the lads back in the fold!

Arrival shots

Some pictures of the players and manager making their way onto US soil...

Weather

We know you love these weather updates, by the way, so here goes...

It's 15 degrees celsius in California currently and, with it being 7am, we're guessing that's going to absolutely soar in the coming hours.

Dispatches from the States

The LFC travelling party, including Jürgen Klopp and his squad, has landed at 6.29am local time here in California as the 2016 Tour gets under way.

The players slept for most of the flight before waking up for a breakfast of either omelette and mushrooms or blueberry pancakes.

A quick trip through immigration and then it's off to the hotel for the players and staff.

Heartbreak for Sheyi

Sheyi Ojo's summer with England U19s is over after the Three Lions were defeated in the semi-finals of the European Championship.

Click here to read more.

Replay

Miss any of the action from the Reds' final domestic pre-season friendly last night? Worry not, you can catch everything again on LFCTV GO by clicking here.

Not yet a subscriber? Find out more here.

The only downside of last night's friendly win over Huddersfield Town was, of course, the injury sustained by Lucas Leiva.

The captain for the night was forced off after pulling up as he sprinted forward and will now need to be assessed by the club's medical staff out in the US.

After the game we asked Jürgen Klopp for an update on the Brazilian's condition - and he had this to say

It's four games, four clean sheets for Loris Karius in a Liverpool shirt, and needless to say he's pretty pleased about that.

The German goalkeeper spoke to LFCTV after last night's win over Huddersfield and reflected on a good start to life in Red, as well as fellow shot-stopper Shamal George's memorable outfield cameo.

Click here to read all about it, or watch the video below if you subscribe to LFCTV GO!

Somewhat conveniently, Dejan Lovren used his post-match interview yesterday to discuss exactly why a trip to the United States will be beneficial for him and his teammates.

See what the No.6 had to say by clicking here.

3.20am (UK time)

Right, it's time to power down and buckle up as the plane gets ready to depart for the West Coast of America.

The flight time is around 11 hours and 45 minutes -  can anyone recommend any good films to watch while we await our rice pudding?

See you on the other side.

Check out our full gallery of boarding photos here.

Also with us on the flight is James Milner, who has returned following England duty at the European Championship.

Among the players boarding the plane is new signing Ragnar Klavan. The players are looking smart and comfortable in their new New Balance grey long-sleeve tops.

2.10am (UK time)

So, just hours on from their 2-0 win at Huddersfield, the Liverpool squad have arrived at John Lennon Airport - via Melwood - ready for the flight to the United States.

It may be after two in the morning, but we're working on bringing you exclusive photos and footage of the lads boarding the team plane. Stay tuned...

Here we go, then - it's time for Liverpool's return to the United States two years on from their successful visit in 2014.

This time, we'll be visiting the West Coast and taking in Pasadena to tackle Chelsea and Santa Clara to do battle with AC Milan. Both matches are part of the International Champions Cup tournament - and you can still buy tickets for them now here.

As well as those two clashes, we'll be stopping off in St Louis on the way home to go head to head with AS Roma.

All three of these matches will be broadcast on LFCTV and LFCTV GO. So make sure you don't miss a kick by signing up for either service here.

ICC 2016 fixtures