Florian Wirtz scored his first goal for Liverpool as the Reds’ pre-season tour of Asia concluded with a 3-1 win over Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan on Wednesday.
The Germany playmaker equalised just after the hour at Nissan Stadium, where the hosts had taken the lead early in the second half through Asahi Uenaka.
The Premier League champions – for whom Hugo Ekitike debuted and Alexis Mac Allister made his first appearance of pre-season – then moved through the gears.
Trey Nyoni quickly put them ahead, before Rio Ngumoha completed the scoring late on in front of more than 67,000 supporters.
Team
Ekitike started before being taken off at half-time in a pre-planned substitution.
Arne Slot then made wholesale changes midway through the second half – with Mac Allister among those to come on – as the Reds continue building up their fitness ahead of the new season.
Alisson Becker missed the game due to personal reasons.
First half
Liverpool were firmly in charge for much of the first half, with only the finishing touch lacking.
Cody Gakpo struck the foot of the post with a low curler early on after a strong surge forward by Conor Bradley, and Wirtz then saw a shot from just outside the penalty area deflected wide.
Mohamed Salah was, as is so often the case, the Reds’ creative fulcrum and his lovely, first-time pass over the top freed Gakpo, who was unable to get a clean shot away under pressure from a defender.
Another classy Salah ball – after he’d been located with a trademark, pinpoint switch of play from Virgil van Dijk – found Dominik Szoboszlai’s run from deep, but the No.8 failed while trying to round the goalkeeper.
An inventive flick by Ekitike was saved by Il-Gyu Park as the pressure on Yokohama continued to grow, but Giorgi Mamardashvili was needed to keep Liverpool level at half-time.
A swift Yokohama counter-attack ended with Jun Amano directing a header towards the bottom corner, which the Reds’ goalkeeper did well to tip wide.
Second half
Darwin Nunez, who replaced Ekitike at the break, spurned Liverpool’s first chance of the second period as he miscued a close-range volley wide from yet another excellent Salah pass.
And, just a couple of minutes later, the hosts took the lead as Ren Kato’s slide-rule ball played in Ueneka, who finished tidily.
To the delight of every supporter inside Nissan Stadium, Slot introduced Japan captain Wataru Endo from the bench and soon after, the Reds were level.
Curtis Jones retrieved possession around the halfway line and strode forward before linking up with Salah. The Egyptian’s return pass went straight into the path of Wirtz, who confidently stroked home his first goal in a Liverpool shirt.
Then, after a further seven substitutions – with Mamardashvili the only starter remaining on the pitch – the visitors went in front as Nyoni acrobatically finished Jeremie Frimpong’s cross to the back post.
And another youngster, Ngumoha, also got on the scoresheet in the closing stages as he carried the ball forward with purpose prior to beating the ’keeper with a low finish.
SOURCE: www.liverpoolfc.com
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