مدير عام كرة القدم
- Gakpo starred with a brace
- Salah found the back of the net
- Ekitike and Wirtz impressed
Athletic Club showed great intent right from the off, although it was Liverpool who came close to breaking the deadlock in the seventh minute. From a quick counter-attack, Ekitike and Gakpo combined well before finding Wirtz inside the box, but the German sensation’s header went above the crossbar.
Anfield finally got to cheer for the opening goal in the 14th minute as old warhorse Salah netted the first goal of the game. Ekitike was the architect of the move as he followed a through ball into the Athletic Club penalty box before beating his marker with a body feint. The Frenchman then found Salah with a perfect pass and the Egyptian found the back of the net.
Once again in the 20th minute, Anfield rose and applauded along with the coaches and players to honour their late footballer Diogo Jota and his brother Andre, who passed away in a tragic car accident in Spain last month.
After a barrage of attacks from the hosts, the visitors finally took control of the game and managed to equalise just around the half-hour mark as Oihan Sancet found the back of the net. Sancet received a deep free-kick inside the Reds’ box and scored with a clinical finish.
It was all square at the break after 45 minutes of intense action, where Liverpool proved to be the more dominant side, but Athletic Club made sure they didn’t concede more than once.
The الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز champions restored their lead 11 minutes after coming back from the half-time break. Ryan Gravenberch went past an Athletic Club player before launching a piledriver at the goal, which Unai Simon initially saved but Gakpo found the back of the net from the rebound.
The La Liga side, however, bounced back within eight minutes as Maroan Sannadi’s header from an incoming corner smacked Gakpo in his face and went in past a shocked Giorgi Mamardashvili.u0026nbsp;
Gakpo soon made amends for his unintentional own goal by putting his side in front for the third time in the game. Salah had an opportunity to complete his brace in the 82nd minute when the English side earned a penalty, but the Egyptian’s sloppy spot-kick went way over the crossbar.
Despite scoring an unintentional own goal that momentarily brought Athletic Club back in the game, Gakpo soon made amends for it by completing his brace and eventually sealing an important victory against a top European side.
New attacking signings Wirtz and Ekitike had impressive outings in the club’s final pre-season friendly. While Wirtz was a livewire on the pitch and created several goalscoring opportunities, Ekitike’s silky touches up front were a treat to watch. The Frenchman even contributed with an assist for Salah in the first half.
All of Liverpool’s main attacking options have either scored goals or provided assists in Monday’s double-header against Athletic Club, including Darwin Nunez. This will come as a huge relief for manager Arne Slot ahead of his team’s title defence in the 2025-26 campaign. Fans should watch out for Ekitike, who could prove to be Slot’s trump card.u0026nbsp;
Slot’s men will next be in action in their first competitive game of the 2025-26 campaign this Sunday as they take on Crystal Palace in the Community Shield at Wembley.
