Rodgers suffers first defeat after Liverpool's youngsters are taught lesson by Roma

Brendan Rodgers suffered his first defeat as Liverpool manager after they were beaten 2-1 by their old Italian rivals Roma in Boston.
Liverpool have enjoyed great success against the Italians down the years, beating them in a European Cup final in the Eternal City in 1984, knocking them out of the UEFA Cup in 2001 en route to winning the trophy, as well as recording a crucial Champions League success in 2002.

Crowded out: Liverpool's Joe Cole

Clearly the stakes were not so high here in Boston but for Rodgers, whose side will begin their Europa League campaign next week in either Belarus or Macedonia, this was an important workout and another opportunity for those on the fringes to impress Rodgers.
The Irishman, however, was left feeling slightly disappointed as second half goals from Michael Bradley and Alessandro Florenzi proving good enough to give Roma victory. Charlie Adam scored Liverpool's late consolation.
With Fenway Park, the iconic home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, providing a spectacular backdrop – there was a 37,169 capacity crowd and tickets for the game were commanding prices of $1500 – the occasion and match were a step up on last Saturday's 1-1 draw with FC Toronto.
There was also a higher profile presence in the crowd – aside from John W Henry and Tom Werner, the men behind Fenway Sports Group, the Liverpool-mad Daniel Craig, aka James Bond, made a flying visit to see his team in action.

Spectacle: Francesco Totti takes a free kick for Roma

Roma enjoyed the better start and Dani Osvaldo, their Argentine striker, was a particular nuisance. He gave Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel some uncomfortable moments, with one twisting run ending with a shot being dragged just wide.
Gradually, however, Liverpool began to find a rhythm and they created the best chances of the opening 45 minutes. Joe Cole was a particularly prominent figure and he could have gone into the break having scored twice.
His first chance came when Alberto Aquilani, a player who made his name with Roma, hoisted a perfect ball into his path but Cole, after showing neat control, got his angles slightly wrong, which meant his lob land on top of the net.

Out to impress: Liverpool's Jonjo Shelvey (left) and Joe Cole (right)

Moments later Cole scurried into Roma's area after holding off a challenge but, again, the former England international was left frustrated as his attempted shot was parried by Roma keeper Marten Stekelenberg. 
Sandwiched in between those attempts was a good effort from Jonjo Shelvey.
With Rodgers making the inevitable raft of changes during the interval, Liverpool struggled to stay in the ascendance after the re-start and mistakes started to creep into the game and it came as no surprise when Roma profited from some slack defensive play to take the lead on 63 minutes.

As Liverpool's defenders stood and watched, Erik Lamela rolled a ball in between Danny Wilson and Daniel Agger, which allowed USA international Bradley to crack a well-place drive past Brad Jones, much to the delight of the significant number of Roma fans in the stands.
Five minutes later, Roma had doubled their advantage and Lamela was again involved. This time his powerful shot was parried by Jones but Alessandro Florenzi was on hand to gleefully smash in the rebound from eight yards.
If some of the defending would have failed to impress Rodgers, he would at least have taken some solace from the way Liverpool responded and Adam gave hope they might salvage a draw when he swept in impressively from 20 yards on 80 minutes but it was not to be.

On the run: Roma's Rodrigo Taddei

Big fans: Liverpool legends Robbie Fowler and Ian Rush with James Bond star Daniel Craig

Roma's Nicolas Lopez (R) keeps the ball away from Liverpool's Jose Enrique