RB Leipzig vs Liverpool. Friendly Match.
Red Bull ArenaAttendance47,069.
Match report as Darwin Nunez nets four second-half goals, his first for his new team, to help Liverpool win 5-0 at RB Leipzig; Mohamed Salah was also on target for the Reds at the Red Bull Arena
Friday 22 July 2022 10:03, UK
Liverpool's club-record £85 million signing Darwin Nunez opened his account for his new side by scoring four second-half goals to help the Reds thrash RB Leipzig 5-0 in a pre-season friendly at the Red Bull Arena.
Nunez, who moved to Anfield from Benfica earlier this summer, started the game on the bench with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp opting to field a strong-looking starting line-up as he continued preparations ahead of the new campaign.
However, after Mohamed Salah had given his team a half-time lead with a well-taken early finish, it became the Nunez show after the interval, with the Uruguay striker netting a 20-minute hat-trick, before rounding off a memorable game with a last-minute goal as the visitors cruised to a comfortable victory.
With the new Premier League season now just over a fortnight away and a showdown with champions Manchester City in the Community Shield on the horizon, Klopp started with what could be considered his first-choice XI in Germany and it paid dividends as his players produced a polished display.
With fitness levels improving with each outing, this looked more like the Liverpool team we saw in their record-breaking campaign last season than the side that were humbled 4-0 by rivals Manchester United in Bangkok ten days ago.
On it from the off, the visitors led after just eight minutes as Leipzig made a mess of clearing the ball, allowing Roberto Firmino's clever flick to slip Salah in on goal, with the forward making no mistake with a cool side-footed finish into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal.
Both sides had chances to add to the first-half scoring, with Adrian - covering for the injured Alisson - making a smart reaction stop to deny Christoper Nkunku on the stroke of half-time, before the introduction of Nunez as the central striker for Firmino at the break.
And it took the frontman just three minutes to get off the mark for his new team as Luiz Diaz was taken out in the box by the hosts' substitute goalkeeper to hand the Reds a penalty, with Salah passing over spot-kick responsibilities to his new strike partner.
Nunez made no mistake from the spot, despite Janis Blaswich guessing the right way and getting a hand to his strike, before adding a second three minutes later.
Thiago Alcantara initially did well to win back possession deep inside Leipzig's half with his outstretched leg, before Trent Alexander-Arnold fed Nunez and the Uruguay forward found the back of the net with an accurate shot off the inside of the far post.
Midway through the second half the 23-year-old completed his hat-trick with a real poacher's goal from six yards, touching home Harvey Elliot's cross from the right byline as he was engulfed by all his team-mates.
However, Nunez had not finished there and as the match entered its final minute, fellow new signing Fabio Carvalho broke forward and released the striker down the left side of the area, before his drive somehow found its way through Blaswich to complete a memorable night for the most expensive player in Liverpool's history.
Jurgen Klopp hailed the "perfect night" for new signing Darwin Nunez...
"In the first half, there were good moments, lesser-good moments, not enough movement, we need to get used to how hard it is to play 50, 60, 70 minutes - and in the end 90 or 120. The human body is like this, you need to get used to it again.
"When we struggled a little bit it was always after three minutes' break we played football again, then a deep breather and play football again. And I wanted us to be a bit more hard with ourselves, go over that point, it's pre-season. And move more. I think we did that second half obviously. Hendo came on, Millie - they both were lively.
"Hendo all of a sudden as an eight, went in behind and we created chances. Then Mo gives Darwin the penalty and Darwin, Pandora's box was open. That's of course a perfect night for him.
"We always think that if you pay a lot of money then the players feel no pressure or whatever. They are all completely normal human beings and the first touch is not perfect then all of a sudden… This generation of players read social media, which is really not smart, but they do.
"All of a sudden you get in a rush and these kinds of things. That's the best way obviously to stop all these discussions. He's a different striker to what we have or what we had, but he's a really good one."
Sky Sports' Ben Grounds:
"Jurgen Klopp sat on his bucket with his legs crossed at one point during the second half as he looked down the left touchline at the Red Bull Arena and he would have been delighted at what he saw.
"He knows this coming season, even in the departure of Sadio Mane, he faces an almighty selection headache on a weekly basis. A penny for the thoughts of Roberto Firmino, then, whose replacement at half-time scored a hat-trick in the space of 23 minutes.
"Darwin Nunez has arrived at Liverpool, announcing himself in the way you imagine will send shivers down the spine of Premier League defenders.
"RB Leipzig, as has often been the case against teams in a class above them, certainly contributed to the floodgates opening for the Uruguayan - but Klopp will be delighted his new star striker is up and running.
"The German will be equally encouraged by the cameo from Fabio Carvalho, who combined well with Kostas Tsmikas down his near side. His performance deserved to be capped with a goal, but it was his well-timed pass that would enable Nunez to add his fourth and Liverpool's fifth.
"Joe Gomez was also steady at centre-back when called upon while Adrian made a fine save with the game in the balance at 1-0 to deny Christopher Nkunku on the stroke of half-time. All in all, the perfect night for Klopp."
Liverpool's pre-season preparations continue when they face RB Salzburg at the Red Bull Arena Salzburg on Wednesday July 27, with the game kicking off at 7pm.
