Liverpool 2-2 Sporting Lisbon: Western Union Cup – as it happened

90 min: Three minutes of added time, says the fourth official.

89 min: Sepp van den Berg, all of 17 years old and wearing the No 72 shirt, replaces Matip to make his first appearance for Liverpool.

88 min: Fabinho is shown yellow for a rough challenge.

86 min: Liverpool have struggled to keep possession over the last five minutes, but Sporting haven’t generated much in the way of chances over that span. It’s petered out a bit to be honest.

83 min: A couple for switches for Sporting: Eduardo Quaresma, Gonzalo Plata, Daniel Bragança and Eduardo are on to replace Ilori, Raphinha, Wendel and the brilliant Bruno Fernandes.

81 min: Sneaky run by Milner up the left flank but his volley off a Fabinho cross deflects off a Sporting defender and out for a corner.

76 min: More substitutions for both sides for the final quarter hour. For Liverpool, it’s Brewster, Jones, Lovren and Lallana come on for Origi, Van Dijk, Henderson and Wijnaldum. For Sporting, Nuno Mendes and Miguel Luís enter for Mathieu and Doumbia.

72 min: Tonight’s official attendance is 31,112.

69 min: A mistake in the Liverpool midfield leads to a 2v2 break and a chance for Sporting, but Mignolet is there to save Belloli’s low shot to the far post.

65 min: Rollicking atmosphere here in the Bronx as a slow patch of action on the pitch is peppered with songs and chants throughout the packed crowd. We’ve received a number of queries about the format for tonight’s, er, cup final. If the score is level after 90 minutes, there will be no extra time and no penalty shootout.

61 min: Waves of substitutions from both sides at the hour mark. Harry Wilson, Joe Gomez, Ryan Kent replace Oxlade-Chamberlain, Robertson and Alexander-Arnold for Liverpool. For Sporting Lisbon, it’s Coates, Dost and Jovane coming on for Neto, Luiz Phellype and Vietto.

57 min: Neto, who’s on a yellow, makes a harsh challenge on Wijnaldum, who wins a free kick from a dangerous spot on the side of the box. Milner takes it, swinging it in with pace and it takes a deflection ... but just shoots wide of the far post for a corner. Alexander-Arnold’s attempt finds Van Dijk on the far post ... he heads it down but he’s denied by the post. Unlucky!

50 min: A good, patient spell of possession here for Sporting Lisbon in the final third results in a corner. Wendel’s offering played short to Hernandes, but he’s dispossessed by Wijnaldum and it’s cleared.

49 min: Bruno Fernandes has another go from distance from the top of the circle but it skids just wide right of the target. The Sporting captain has been at the heart of everything for his side tonight.

48 min: Alexander-Arnold’s corner is cleared and it falls on the break for Sporting, but Mignolet comes out of his box and clears an overcooked through pass from danger.

47 min: Van Dijk lets it rip from 30 yards and it sails about 20 feet over the goal into the seats along the first baseline. Optimistic.

46 min: And we’re off in the second half!

This match is, in fact, for a trophy. Something called the Western Union Cup. Unclear what it’s made of but we’re told it’s much lighter than Old Big Ears. And unlike many of these pre-season affairs on American soil (including last night’s), tonight’s match will not be settled by penalties if were drawn after 90 minutes. That means Liverpool and Sporting will have to do with sharing it for the next year.

45 min: The fourth official signals for one minute of added time.

43 min: Liverpool finishing the half strong here, keeping Sporting on the back foot even if they don’t have a second goal to show for it.

41 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain’s cross from the edge of the box nearly finds the head of Wijnaldum, but it’s cleared by a Sporting defender amid oohs from the crowd.

35 min: Marcus Wendel sells Fabingo on the dummy, buys himself some space and rips a shot off the post, which nearly hits Mignolet on the rebound and goes in the goal but luckily rolls the other way and out for a corner. Moments later Bruno Fernandes’s attempt is nearly converted but is sent out for a goal kick. A dangerous spell for Sporting at the moment.

33 min: Fabinho is whistled for an overzealous challenge on Bruno Fernandes and the goalscorer will look to notch a second from a dangerous area ... but this time his shot is off target.

30 min: Luís Neto is shown yellow for a tardy, two-footed challenge on Wijnaldum.

28 min: Moments after a Sporting Lisbon chance, Liverpool are quick to counter and a Milner cross toward the edge of the area finds Robertson, who uncorks a thunderbolt that sails a couple of feet over the crossbar.

22 min: Word is fans are still queued up to get into the stadium thanks to an undermanned security detail, but the stands at Yankee Stadium are nearly full by now apart from the closed-off mezzanine with a rollicking atmosphere to match.

18 min: Liverpool have done well to recover after that early surprise, keeping possession, winning a few corners and creating a steady string of chances. Another corner from Trent Alexander-Arnold just now finds the head of Van Dijk in the center of the area and his header demands a highlight-reel save from Renan Ribeiro.

12 min: Liverpool win another corner when a well-timed tackle by Tiago Ilori on Oxlade-Chamberlain puts it out past the goal line. It’s whipped in by Alexander-Arnold and Matip’s header clangs off the woodwork! But it wouldn’t have counted with the referee whistling for a foul.

10 min: A sharply hit shot by Origi is cleared past the goal line by a Sporting defender for another Liverpool corner, but it’s cleared easily.

9 min: A patient build-up by Liverpool ends with their first corner of the match after a Wijnaldum shot caroms out. Alas, nothing comes of it and it’s cleared past the halfway line.

1 min: And they’re off! Liverpool attacking from right to left as they debut their new away kit, Sporting CP in navy blue and green strips.

The players have exited the tunnel. They’ve stood for the Star-Spangled Banner. There’s been an abbreviated rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone. And we’ll be under way momentarily ...

We’re about five minutes from kickoff and we’ve just been handed an updated team sheet. Luiz Phellype gets moved into the XI for Sporting Lisbon in place of Miguel Luís.

Hello and welcome to Yankee Stadium for tonight’s friendly between Liverpool and Sporting Lisbon. The six-time European champions are here in the Bronx and looking to end their pre-season tour of America on a high note after Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Dortmund at Notre Dame Stadium and Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Sevilla at Fenway Park.

We’ve just been informed by the stadium public address announcer that our scheduled 8.05pm kickoff has been delayed until 8.15pm due to traffic in the city, leaving us roughly 50 minutes to kickoff. Still, the team sheets are out so we’ll spare you further throat-clearing and get right to it.

Liverpool

XI: Simon Mignolet, Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Jordan Henderson (c), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Joel Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold

Subs: Andy Longergan, Daniel Atherton, Dejan Lovren, Joe Gomez, Adam Lallana, Rhian Brewster, Ryan Kent, Adam Lewis, Nathaniel Phillips, Curtis Jones, Ki Jana Hoever, Bobby Duncan, Ben Woodburn, Harry Wilson, Sepp van den Berg

Sporting CP

XI: Renan Ribeiro, Tiago Ilori, Bruno Fernandes, Luciano Vietto, Raphinha Belloli, Luís Neto, Jeremy Mathieu, Cristian Borja, Miguel Luís, Marcus Wendel, Idrissa Doumbia

Subs: Sebastian Coates, Eduardo Henrique, Gonzalo Plata, Bas Dost, Luiz Phellype, Nuno Mendes, Thierry Correia, Daniel Bragança, Eduardo Quaresma, Jovane Cabral, Luís Maximiano

Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Tom Dart’s look into why NBA stars (like Liverpool part-owner LeBron James) are investing in soccer clubs.