Liverpool end their summer with a bang

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 10 Aug 2021 09:01 BST
• 5 min read

Having romped to their first league championship in 30 years during the 2019-20 season, Liverpool endured a much more difficult campaign last time around.

Indeed for much of the 2020-21 term, it appeared as if Liverpool wouldn't even qualify for the Champions League.

However, they just about rescued their season in the closing weeks and now their attention will turn to preparing for the 2021-22 campaign.

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Together with some much-needed business in the transfer market, Jurgen Klopp is aware that his pre-season friendly calendar will be crucial to ensuring Liverpool start the new season off well.

Liverpool’s pre season friendlies

20 July v FC Wacker Innsbruck (N) - DREW 1-1 (Origi pen)

20 July v Stuttgart (N) - DREW 1-1 (Mane)

23 July v Mainz (N) - WON 1-0 (Kilian own goal)

29 July v Hertha Berlin (N) - LOSS 4-3 (Man, Minamino, Oxlade-Chamberlain)

5 August v Bologna (N) - WON 3-0 (Jota, Mane and Minamino)

8 August v Athletic (H) - DREW 1-1 (Jota)

9 August v Osasuna (H) - WON 3-1 (Blanco (og), Firmino (2))

Liverpool began pre-season training on July 12, although the players involved at Euro 2020 or the Copa America were scheduled to join up with the squad later in the month.

As is often the case under Klopp, Liverpool booked a trip to Austria for their pre-season.

Their first two matches against FC Wacker Innsbruck and VFB Stuttgart were on the same day on Tuesday July 30 and involved two-30 minute matches behind closed doors against these teams.

Both matches finished 1-1. Divock Origi put Liverpool ahead from the penalty spot against Wacker Innsbruck but Ronivaldo equalised for the Austrians.

In the second match against Stuttgart, the German side took the lead through Philipp Forster, only for Sadio Mane to earn a share of the result.

Liverpool’s third friendly was against Klopp’s former club Mainz 05 at the Greisbergers Betten-Arena on Friday 23 July.

The Reds got their first win of the pre-season thanks to an own goal four minutes from time by Luca Kilian.

The tour of Austria was then be completed with a friendly against Hertha Berlin at the Tivoli Stadium, which saw Klopp's side ultimately concede defeat to their Bundesliga rivals.

However, that wasn't before goals from Sadio Mane, Takumi Minamino and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. And, perhaps most importantly, it also saw Virgil Van Dijk and joe Gomez pick up 30 minutes of important game time.

⭐️ 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅 ⭐️

Here's our series of pre-season fixtures to take place in and around the team's training camp in Austria this month 👇

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 12, 2021

Liverpool then travelled to the Stade Camille-Fournier in Evian, France where they faced Bologna in two 60-minute matches in order to test the entire squad.

In the opening match, goals from Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane made short work of the Italian side and in the second clash a single goal from Takumi Minamino was enough to earn another victory.

Liverpool then hosted Athletic Bilbao at Anfield on Sunday 8 August in a rematch of a famous 1983 European clash.

Diogo Jota put the Reds in front on 13 minutes but Alex Berenguer earned the Basque team a draw on 53 minutes.

Barely 24 hours later, the Reds were back in action again, this time against Osasuna, giving new signing Ibrahima Konate his first Anfield start.

They made short work of their second Primera Division opponents in as many days, with an own goal after quarter of an hour giving them the lead.

Roberto Firmino, meanwhile, helped allay some doubts over his goal-scoring form by netting twice. Indeed, the Brazilian might have completed his hat-trick before being withdrawn with an hour played.

Liverpool kick off their Premier League season on Saturday 14 August with a trip to Carrow Road to play Norwich City.

Their first home match of the new campaign comes a week later on Saturday 21 August when Klopp’s men will host Burnley at Anfield.