Cliff Notes – Núñez scores 14-minute hat trick as Liverpool beat Stoke 5-0
- Darwin Núñez netted three goals in a remarkable 14-minute span, leading Liverpool to a 5-0 victory over Stoke City in a friendly match.
- Liverpool’s first-half lineup featured notable players including Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, while new signing Florian Wirtz also made an appearance.
- The team made 10 substitutions at half-time, with Giorgi Mamardashvili starting in goal, and ongoing transfer discussions regarding Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak were reported.
Núñez scores 14-minute hat trick as Liverpool beat Stoke 5-0
Darwin Núñez scored three goals in 14 first-half minutes for Liverpool as they beat Stoke City 5-0 in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Sunday.
Núñez, who has been linked with a move away from Anfield this summer, had Liverpool 3-0 up within 20 minutes of kick off.
Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa also scored as Arne Slot’s side impressed in the game at Liverpool’s AXA Training Centre.
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Florian Wirtz, who joined Liverpool in a club-record transfer from Bayer Leverkusen earlier this summer, featured in a strong first-half XI that also included Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah.
Darwin Núñez was on form for Liverpool in their preseason win against Stoke City. Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Liverpool made 10 changes at the break with Ibrahima Konaté, Cody Gakpo, Kostas Tsimikas, and Ryan Gravenberch featuring as well as new signings Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong.
Alisson Becker didn’t feature for Liverpool with Giorgi Mamardashvili starting in goal before being replaced by Ármin Pécsi shortly before the hour mark.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are yet to reach an agreement with Frankfurt regarding the transfer of Hugo Ekitike. The clubs remain in talks about a move that would see Liverpool strengthen their attacking options.
Another Liverpool target, Alexander Isak, missed Newcastle United’s 4-0 preseason defeat to Celtic on Saturday with manager Eddie Howe saying his absence was due to speculation about his future. However, Howe also expressed confidence that Isak would remain at Newcastle amid interest from Liverpool.
Liverpool later named the 29 players that departed for their preseason tour of Asia on Sunday evening. There was no place for Chiesa, though Luis Díaz was included after missing Sunday’s friendly. ESPN reported last week that Liverpool had rejected a €67.5 million (£58.6m) bid from Bayern Munich to sign the forward.
Liverpool first-half team: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Van Dijk, Szoboszlai, Nunez, Salah, Jones, Robertson, Wirtz, Ngumoha, Nyoni.
Liverpool second-half team: Mamardashvili (Pecsi, 59), Endo, Konate, Chiesa, Gakpo, Tsimikas, Gravenberch, Doak (Stephenson, 74), Kerkez, Frimpong, Bradley.