Liverpool have suffered their first defeat of pre-season, edged out by Bayern Munich after a thoroughly entertaining back-and-forth contest in Singapore on Wednesday.
It was a blistering start from the Reds, with Cody Gakpo opening the scoring inside just two minutes.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 2, 2023
Blasting his strike past a helpless Yann Sommer after being played in behind by Diogo Jota, it was the perfect start for Jurgen Klopp’s side, with their early pressure paying off.
Just as Bayern were building up steam, Liverpool doubled their lead – a goal from the new club captain, Virgil van Dijk, who headed home from a vicious Andy Robertson corner.
Big Virg rising highest for our second goal 💥⚽ pic.twitter.com/mztkSUgKjb
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 2, 2023
The German champions responded quickly, however, and reduced the deficit just five minutes later, with Serge Gnabry brilliantly beating the challenge of Joel Matip before slotting past Alisson.
And having raced into that early lead, Liverpool were pegged back once again just before the break, with Thomas Tuchel’s team finding a reprieve through former Manchester City winger Leroy Sane.
It was a relatively slow start to the second half, as both teams tried to get settled following a raft of substitutions.
However, as the clock approached the 70th minute, a moment of brilliance from Luis Diaz reinstated the Reds’ lead, finishing off a fantastic Liverpool move.
After receiving Mohamed Salah’s pass, Diaz quickly skipped past his man before firing into the bottom corner with aplomb.
Started the move and finished it in style 💫
A lovely, lovely goal from Lucho ⚽ pic.twitter.com/mi70a8HUpW
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 2, 2023
However, with ten minutes to go, the Colombian’s strike was cancelled out by Josip Stanisic, who nudged in the rebound from Matthijs de Ligt’s header.
And in the first minute of stoppage time, the Bavarians would steal the win in style, with youngster Frans Krutzig lashing a half-volley into the top corner, giving Alisson no chance.
Ultimately, the Reds end their tour of Singapore in disappointment, although there were a number of positives to come from the result, not least the attacking firepower that was on show.
Next up on the pre-season schedule: Liverpool vs Darmstadt on Monday, 7 August at 19:00 BST.
Player Ratings (4-3-3):
GK: Alisson (6), RB: Alexander-Arnold (6), CB: Matip (6), CB: Van Dijk (7), LB: Robertson (7), CM: Jones (7), CM: Szoboszlai (7), CM: Mac Allister (6), RW: Salah (8), ST: Gakpo (8), LW: Jota (7).
Subs: Konate (6), Diaz (8), Nunez (7), Gomez (6), Tsimikas (6), Elliott (6), Quansah (5), McConnell (6), Doak (7), Clark (7)
