Player ratings can be found here. Salah, Mane impressed in particular.
βοΈ I'll post the ratings shortly, here's the quick summary of the game: Liverpool's pre-season continued with a thrilling 4-3 loss against Hertha Berlin.
The highlight of the game is undoubtedly seeing Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez back on the pitch. The centre-back pair made their returns coming on in the 68th minute.
Apart from that, it was an entertaining watch. Liverpool started lively but Hertha opened the scoring through a set-piece. The Germans capitalised on Tsimikas' positional mistake and made it 2-0, with Suat Serdar netting from the tighest of angles.
Liverpool quickly pulled one back as Tsimikas' interception started a lovely move finished by Mane. The Reds' trademark high press worked again as Keita regained control of the ball in Hertha's half, fed Salah who produced a stunning backheel assist for Minamino.
Klopp made 6 changes at the break and 5 further subs at the hour mark, and Hertha regained the lead in the 65th minute as Stevan Jovetic, who had scored against the Reds during his spells at Fiorentina and Man City, lost his marker Nat Phillips and headed the ball into the net.
Jovetic then bagged a brace, running past Van Dijk and Robertson, but the Reds had the last word, as Oxlade-Chamberlain made it 4-3.
Virg played a big role in the Reds' third goal as he headed the ball into the six-yard box where it was punched away by the goalie; Ox caught it and put in into the net.
Despite the result, there are a lot of positives to be taken from that game. However, we do need to fix our defensive problems as conceding 4 from a mid-table Bundesliga side is unacceptable.
π The ref blows a final whistle. Hertha 4-3 Liverpool.
β½ 86' Goooal! Van Dijk's heads the ball, the keeper punches it away and it falls to Oxlade-Chamberlain who fires it home!
β½ 80' Jovetic with a brace. Whatever man, we're here for Big Virg and Joe. A really good individual skill though as he glides past Van Dijk.
π 68' Virg and Gomez are back!
β½ 65 Goal. Hertha are back in front as Stevan Jovetic heads the ball into the net. Nat Phillips, what was that? Lost Jovetic in the penalty box and allowed him a free header...
β° 62' Robbo with a fantastic ball! A lovely link-up with Curtis Jones as he lays the ball on the plate for Kaide Gordon but his shot goes well over.
π 60' Klopp makes 5 further subs. Jota, Clarkson, Gordon, Morton, Rhys Williams and Neco Williams replace Trent, Keita, Milner, Mane and Salah. 11 changes overall and no Van Dijk :(
β° 55' Liverpool are absolutely dominating! Mane gets free at the near post during a free kick and heads it but the goalie saves it!
β° 51' Another backheel from Salah! Keita intercepts the ball, gives it to Mo who feeds the overlapping Trent with his backheel. The keeper gets to Trent's drilled cross a few moments before Ox though.
β° 46' A very slick pass by Trent to Salah. Not everything works perfectly today for Liverpool but the TAA-Mo link-up has been perfect.
π 6 changes at the interval:
Adrian, Robertson, Jones, R Williams, Phillips, Oxlade-Chamberlain are on. Kelleher, Tsimikas, Elliott, Konate, Matip and Minamino are off.
β° 46' And we're back underway.
π Half-time ratings:
Good: Mane, Salah 9, Elliot 8, Trent, Konate 7.5
Average: Minamino, Tsimikas, Keita, Milner 6.5
Poor: Kelleher 5, Matip 5.5
βοΈ The ref blows the half-time whistle! Here's a quick overview of the game so far:
It's been an entertaining first half. Liverpool started aggresively and Salah, Elliott and Mane had chances to break the deadlock in the opening 20 minutes.
However, it was Hertha who took the lead through a set piece, with Tsimikas giving away a foul on Liverpool's left-hand side. Kelleher was beaten by Ascacibar, who got to the ball faster than the goalie and put it into the net.
Liverpool entered the Germans' box a few times after conceding but Hertha surprsingly doubled the lead as with a powerful volley from a tight angle; both Tsimikas and Kelleher could have done better.
However, the Greek left-back played a crucial role in the Reds' opening goal of the match, as he made a brilliant interception on the left-hand side, ran into the box and played a clever pass to Mane, who put the ball into the net.
The Reds' high press worked again in the 42nd minute. Naby Keita recovered the ball in the opposition half, drove forward, fed Salah, who used his backheel to pass the ball to Minamino, and Taki put us level with a brilliant finish.
β½ 42' GOOOAL We're level! Liverpool level the score with a fantastic goal! Keita dispossess the opponent, feeds Salah in the box who produces a fantastic backheel assist as Minamino taps the ball home!
β° 39' Mane can't reach the ball in the box after Minamino's pass from the right.
β½ 36' GOAL! LFC pull one back! Tsimikas intercepts the ball in the opposition half, enters the box and feeds Mane, who takes two shots to put the ball into the net.
π¬ Empire of the Kop on Twitter: "Liverpool playing their best football of pre-season so far and are 2-0 down. Typical. At least it's pre-season"
β½ 31' Ohh that was unexpected. Hertha double the lead as Suat Serdar smashes the ball into the net from an unbelievable angle. Tsimikas, Keita and especially Kelleher could have done better.
π¬ ShaunLFCt on Twitter: "Kelleher just chilling there watching the ball go past him instead of coming out and catching it, cool"
β½ 21' Goal for Hertha Berlin! Ascacibar puts his name on the scoresheet as he puts the ball into the net following a free-kick from the right side.
β° 16' Another opportunity to open the scoring! Salah whips in a lovely cross for Mane, who heads the ball and forces a spectacular save by the goalie.
β° 14' That was a good chance for the Reds! Elliott spots Salah cutting inside into the penalty box and feeds him, Mo's shot is saved by the goalie. Minamino tries to hit it on the rebound but it goes well over.
β° 11' A good run by Trent on the right-hand side but the ball is cleared for the corner. Harvey Elliott produces a shot on the rebound but it goes over.
β° 5' Keita shows incredible composure to keep the ball under pressure.
β° 1' And we're underway.
Liverpool are wearing black armbands today. It's a tribute to Andrew Devine, a lifelong Liverpool fan who passed away this week. He is the 97th Hillsborough victim. Read more about him here.
π° Here is how the lads will line up today:
Starting XI: Kelleher, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Matip, Tsimikas, Milner, Keita, Elliott, Mane, Salah, Minamino
Subs: Adrian, H. Davies, Van Dijk, Gomez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones, Jota, Robertson, R. Williams, Phillips, Gordon, Beck, Cain, Clarkson, N. Williams, Morton, Bradley, Koumetio
π Hi Reds, this is Aleksei and I'll be in charge of Tribuna's Live blog today! Van Dijk and Gomez could make their returns today. How are you feeling ahead of the game today?
