SALZBURG, AUSTRIA - Tuesday, August 25, 2020: Liverpool's Roberto Firmino during a preseason friendly match between FC Red Bull Salzburg and Liverpool FC at the Red Bull Arena. (Pic by Propaganda)

Liverpool 3-0 Stuttgart: Reds begin pre-season with comfortable win

In tough conditions due to heavy rain, Liverpool got their pre-season underway.

Liverpool 3-0 Stuttgart

Pre-Season Friendly, Stadion Burgerau (Austria)
Saturday, 22 August 2020

Goals

Firmino 15′ (assist: Jones)
Keita 40′ (assist: Salah)
Brewster 68′ (assist: Milner)


Jurgen Klopp named almost his strongest possible XI for the first half, missing Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson due to injuries.

Also not available were Joel Matip, Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi.

Curtis Jones got the nod in midfield, with Klopp needing to use Gini Wijnaldum as the holding midfielder in the second half.

A torrential downpour that started an hour before kick-off continued into the first half and at times you had to wonder whether the game may even be postponed.

The opening goal arrived on 15 minutes, with Roberto Firmino tapping home from close range after some nice skill from Jones inside the box – the youngster being one of the standouts from the first half.

Sadio Mane had a good chance to double the lead a few minutes later after a nice exchange of passes with Naby Keita.

And it was Keita who made it two shortly before half-time, finishing comfortably after a good link up with Mohamed Salah.

Half time saw a new XI enter for the second 45.

Half time: Liverpool 2-0 Stuttgart

  • 23 players get playing time
  • Firmino, Keita and Brewster get the goals
  • New signing Tsimikas looks good
  • Weather makes for tough conditions

The second half offered the first opportunity to see new signing Kostas Tsimikas, and the Greek provided some strong running and good crosses from left-back.

The weather meant for a very heavy pitch, with the ball being caught up and players losing their footing.

The pace as a result of the conditions was slow, and there were very few opportunities for long spells.

Rhian Brewster netted the Reds’ third when the young striker hit home from close range inside the box.

A couple of smart saves by Adrian kept it goalless for the opponents as the match progressed.

A good workout in extremely difficult conditions. The 45 minutes for each player will no doubt feel like much more due to the heavy pitch.

First Half: Alisson, Williams, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Keita, Jones, Mane, Salah, Firmino

Second Half: Adrian, Hoever, Phillips, Van den Berg (Koumetio 70), Tsimikas, Wijnaldum, Milner, Grujic, Elliott, Minamino, Brewster.

Subs not used: Kelleher