RB Leipzig 0-5 Liverpool: £85m man Darwin Nunez scores FOUR after coming on at half-time to open his Reds account in style… with Mo Salah also on target after netting the first in Germany
- Liverpool win 5-0 away at Leipzig with Darwin Nunez grabbing four of them
- Convincing win to back up 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace in Far East last week
- Looked much sharper and fitter than their Bundesliga opponents in Germany
Liverpool ran out convincing 5-0 winners in Leipzig with Darwin Nunez grabbing four of them on an encouraging night for the Reds as they look to step up their pre-season preparations.
The match was billed as possibly Liverpool’s toughest pre-season test yet, having played Manchester United and Crystal Palace so far, but they resoundingly laid bare how ridiculous those suggestions were by swatting aside a poor looking RB Leipzig side.
Throughout Liverpool, who have played one more game this summer than their Bundesliga opponents, looked sharper and fitter, with their midfield faster to every second ball and their backline quite to snaffle any ember of a Leipzig move forward.
Darwin Nunez scored his first goals for Liverpool in a 5-0 rout of RB Leipzig in Germany
Jurgen Klopp’s side deserved their 1-0 lead at the break and in truth, it should have been more. The goalscorer, Mohamed Salah, took his goal well but then should have added to his tally merely moments later.
In the second half, Nunez, who replaced the largely ineffectual Roberto Firmino, looked sharper and more in tune with his teammates than he had done in his previous two outings. His four goals, including one penalty and then three decently-taken efforts, gave Liverpool fans a glimpse of what they could see this season.
What will be interesting is whether or not Klopp deems his new £85m centre forward ready to start against Manchester City next weekend.
This season is likely to be one in which managers will have to call upon players who would otherwise be traditionally regarded as fringe players. An indication of this was perhaps given by the involvement of Harvey Elliot and Fabio Carvalho, who both assisted four-goal man Nunez.
Carvalho, following his introduction, in particular looked sharp and caused Leipzig problems. Throughout the first half, the midfield trio of Thiago, Fabinho and Naby Keita had not allowed Domenik Szoboszlai and Kevin Kampl any time on the ball and this was something that continued into the second period.
Despite having made a number of substitutions, as is customary in games such as these, Liverpool did not let up the pressure and were well worth their 5-0 win.
Follow Sportsmail’s live blog for this evening’s pre-season clash between RB Leipzig and Liverpool.
