Wirtz Debuts, Nunez Bags Hat-trick In Secret Liverpool Friendly

Liverpool were in action in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Stoke City on Sunday afternoon as Arne Slot’s side

Florian Wirtz made his debut for Liverpool following his record-breaking transfer, as the Reds cruised to victory in a private friendly against Championship team Stoke City.

Wirtz, who was signed from Bayer Leverkusen last month for £116million, had missed the 3-1 win over Preston North End in Arne Slot’s side’s first pre-season match last weekend.

However, the attacking midfielder played the first half of the game against Stoke, which took place at the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby on Sunday afternoon.

Darwin Nunez kicked off his pre-season in style by netting a first-half hat-trick, while Rio Ngumoha also scored before half-time as the Reds stormed to a 5-0 win over the Potters, with Federico Chiesa rounding off the scoring after the break.

Wirtz was part of a formidable starting XI that saw captain Virgil van Dijk make his first pre-season appearance.

The German international played as the No.10, with Ngumoha on the left wing, Mohamed Salah on the right and Nunez, who looked particularly sharp, up front. Curtis Jones and young Trey Nyoni formed the midfield duo, reports the Liverpool Echo.

In a surprising move, Dominik Szoboszlai was positioned at right-back, with Joe Gomez partnering Van Dijk in the centre of defence, Andy Robertson at left-back and Giorgi Mamardashvili between the sticks.

Ibrahima Konate made his first appearance of the summer in a completely revamped second-half team. New young signing Armin Pecsi was in goal, with Kostas Tsimikas playing centre-back, Conor Bradley as right-back and Milos Kerkez at left-back.

Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo took up the defensive midfield positions, with Cody Gakpo playing further forward. The forward line consisted of Chiesa, Jeremie Frimpong and Ben Doak.

Liverpool are now set to fly out to the Far East for the start of their pre-season tour.

They will face AC Milan in Hong Kong next Saturday before heading to Japan for a match against Yokohama F Marinos.

Dailystar.co.uk