It is 36 degrees celsius in Boston. Over 93 degrees farenheit. It feels like it is more; the sort of burning, piercing temperature which makes it uncomfortable to walk in, let alone play a competitive game in. The hottest day in the city since 1991.
The press room of Fenway Park is five floors up in an elevator and situated in its own glass enclave; crucially, and mercifully, it has air conditioning. This is an important admission to make because any conversation about the heat, and the sort of impact it had, is conjecture. It is also important to mention because it genuinely offers a terrific vantage point, but it's also low on atmosphere. You have the best seat in the house, but it certainly isn't in IMAX.
The stand opposite our viewpoint, which is attached to the world-famous Green Monster, glistens and shimmers in the sunshine; it is red and red alone. Boston is red. This was apparent on Saturday night, when over 2,000 fans laughed with The Anfield Wrap and sang with Jamie Webster; it was apparent throughout Sunday, as bars packed out and shirts, new and old, walked towards the ballpark.
But you cannot hear the pre-match You'll Never Walk Alone too well in this air-conditioned box; the National Anthem only carries because of the microphone it is sung into. Bursts of excitement punctuate the general underlying murmuring, but though the optics of the game are impressive, the noise is clearly stifled. It means you receive a truncated feel of the game, and observations may not be absolute.
The weather absolutely makes a difference, though. That is evident, even behind this glass. Both teams start the game with surprising speed and thrust, with Liverpool in particular looking to seize the initiative, Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold the main instigators. It lasts for all of five minutes. If energy bars were displayed on screen, they would have turned from green to orange already. It is hot. So hot. Too hot for soccer.
![Divock Origi of Liverpool celebrates scoring against Sevilla](https://i2-prod.liverpoolecho.co.uk/incoming/article16623603.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_JS188456540.jpg)
Yet, Sevilla cope. To say they flourish would be too much, but they are better than Liverpool, and by a distance. You know this because those murmurs from Liverpool fans are far more prolonged than the bursts of excitement; in truth, there is little to get excited about. After the first few forays forward from Liverpool, Sevilla take control, and it is Andy Lonergan - 35, and a short-term training solution to the club's goalkeeping crisis - who offers the opportunity to get excited most thanks to a smart stop. It was that sort of game.
But then, it isn't that sort of game, because Sevilla crunch into challenges. They are uncompromising, with their midfield captain Ever Banega pitbull-like, tip-toeing the line. He receives a booking for dissent, he snaps at heels, he potentially elbows Harry Wilson in the face. It threatens to boil over. It isn't the sort of thing which should happen in a pre-season friendly. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose journey back to full fitness needs no reminder, is clattered by Diego Carlos. It feels farcical at times, a feeling intensified by the heat.
You can also tell it is hot because Jurgen Klopp makes 11 changes at half time. Those fans in the stand opposite should also be substituted. It still glistens in the searing conditions, but that is because it is uncovered. How they last the 90 minutes is one of the biggest achievements of the whole pre-season. The sun starts to dim a little - those who played first half drew the shorter straw, no doubt - but it still isn't easy, it's still 33°C/91°F.
By that time, Sevilla had gone 1-0 up, a small smattering of Sevilla supporters making themselves heard. Divock Origi fires home an equaliser from close range as half time beckons, most of Fenway erupts.
A temporary truce was called at the break, both in terms of Sevilla's ridiculous challenges, and any notion of this contest resuming any sort of competitiveness.
And then Joris Gnagnon, Sevilla's defender who had just come on, changed all that.
There are no words for the cowardice of his challenge on Yasser Larouci. Larouci, 18, without a senior minute to his name. We sometimes mistake these boys for men because of how they are viewed from television screens and press boxes, but he's 18. He isn't an 18 year old who has been raised playing the game in parks, where shins are kicked; he has, quite rightly, been protected in the professional pyramid. Among the pain etched on the Algerian-born teenager was also a sense of shock. This shouldn't happen in any game, let alone a pre-season friendly.
It is too early for the prognosis, but Larouci, enjoying a breakout summer, was stretchered off. It is not too early to herald that as a disgraceful act from the player, and one of which he should be ashamed. Liverpool were rightly apoplectic, the red card received not sufficient enough. Simon Mignolet sprinted 60 yards. Some Sevilla players apologised. The reaction from Larouci's team-mates told the story more than these words could.
Liverpool would concede a late goal - Alejandro Pozo with the strike - to consign them to their second consecutive defeat in the US, this time 1-2. In truth, they struggled to regain a rhythm after the injury interruption. After the blow to Larouci, the result really does not matter, even to 10-man Sevilla.
It is something few will forget. After a fantastic weekend, it is a shame it will be remembered in the short-term for the night everything boiled over.
NB: Since publication of this article, Gnagnon has apologised on Twitter for his challenge. His intentions in the heat - intense heat - cannot be excused, but his show of contrition should also be recognised.