Greuther Furth vs Liverpool. Friendly Match.
TBC.
Match report as Liverpool ended German pre-season camp with 4-4 draw against 2. Bundesliga side Greuther Furth; Luis Diaz opened scoring before Adrian error gifted Furth leveller; Darwin Nunez brace put Liverpool in charge before three quick Furth strikes; Salah salvaged late draw
Tuesday 25 July 2023 07:49, UK
Mohamed Salah scored a late leveller to secure a 4-4 draw against Greuther Furth and spare Liverpool's blushes during an engrossing pre-season friendly.
Jurgen Klopp will have much to ponder following his team's trip to Germany, with the eight-goal thriller against the side from the German second tier following a 4-2 victory over Karlsruher last week.
Scoring goals does not appear to be a problem for Liverpool, with an excellent Luis Diaz strike being followed by a Darwin Nunez double after half-time.
But the Premier League outfit look extremely vulnerable defensively and gifted Julian Green a goal when Adrian played James McConnell into trouble shortly after the break.
A controversial Lukas Petkov goal was followed by two quick Armindo Sieb efforts, meaning Furth came within seconds of claiming a notable win before Salah stole in at the back post moments before full-time.
Klopp named a strong XI for the friendly with Furth, which was billed as a behind-closed-doors encounter but still featured a number of supporters in one stand.
Alexis Mac Allister was handed his first start since arriving from Brighton and he was joined in the side by 17-year-old Ben Doak, but Dominik Szoboszlai missed out with a minor injury.
Doak, a Scotland U21 international, lined up on the right of the Liverpool attack and had a couple of decent chances to open the scoring without truly troubling Furth goalkeeper Jonas Urbig.
He rolled his ankle slightly in training, really nothing. Everybody is super-positive about it, himself first. If we would have today a Premier League game or whatever, he could play.
Luis Diaz came closest to breaking the deadlock with a bending effort from the edge of the area after a lengthy run, before finding the net shortly afterwards after another mazy dribble.
Diogo Jota then missed a one-on-one with Urbig and hit the post from a tight angle, while Cody Gakpo fired a shot just over as Liverpool looked set to ease to a handsome win.
But Klopp’s decision to make 11 substitutions at half-time led to a chaotic second half, which started with Green equalising for Furth when McConnell - who was played into deep trouble by Adrian - saw his pass ricochet into the net.
Darwin Nunez looked to have restored order after twice being set up by Salah, firstly rounding Urbig and passing the ball into the empty net, then slotting a finish past the ‘keeper moments later.
Both sides went on to miss inviting opportunities to add to the scoreline, with Salah and Lewis Koumas wasting Liverpool’s openings, while Adrian did well to deny Tim Limperle before Branimir Hrgota shot wide.
Events then threatened to boil over when Kostas Tsimikas - who was being pulled by the shirt - caught an opponent with a high challenge that could have seen him face more than the eventual yellow card.
Liverpool then again handed Furth a goal, with Joel Matip being dispossessed inside his own area and allowing Lukas Petkov to drill the ball past Adrian.
Kerim Calhanoglu appeared to be offside in the build up to the goal but, with the assistant’s flag staying down and VAR not in operation, Liverpool had no excuse for not playing to the whistle.
Sieb then stunned the visitors with two excellent goals, the first a sweeping finish from a sharp counter attack and the second a guided effort from the edge of the box.
But Furth - who finished 12th in the 18-team 2. Bundesliga last season - could not hold onto their win, with Nunez granted time and space to pick out Salah, who produced an acrobatic finish at the far post.
Nunez should then have sealed his hat-trick in the final seconds but instead saw his close-range header somehow kept out by Urbig, who ensured Furth held onto a deserved draw after more than playing their part in an entertaining encounter.
Klopp described the scoreline as "spectacular" and was happy with the quality of goals Liverpool scored, but bemoaned the slack play inside his side's own half that saw them leak goals throughout the second period.
Speaking to Liverpool's website after the game, Klopp said: "Spectacular result. A lot of good football situations.
"You could see now, last day of the camp, travel, play, travel is always a bit exhausting. But you have to go through it and that's what we did. Most important, nobody got injured.
"Of course nobody wants to concede four goals but you saw in the second half we tried to have a playing build-up and we were too late in mind, passed the balls too late, first touch not good, and that's how we brought them back into the game.
"Scored on the other hand really, really nice goals, so a lot of good individual performances and that's most important, that we have 50-ish minutes for everybody. A good camp and I'm really happy."
Liverpool now head to Singapore for friendlies against Leicester and Bayern Munich, before hosting German side Darmstadt at Preston's Deepdale Stadium on August 7.
