Mainz vs Liverpool. Friendly Match.
Coface Arena.
Monday 8 August 2016 15:13, UK
Jurgen Klopp's return to Mainz ended in a one-sided defeat as Liverpool were beaten 4-0 in their final pre-season game on Sunday.
Having made nine changes from the team that beat Barcelona 4-0 at Wembley just 24 hours earlier, the Reds produced a vastly inferior performance and created hardly any chances of note at the Opel Arena.
Daniel Brosinski gave Mainz a 15th-minute lead from the penalty spot after a handball by Andre Wisdom.
Jhon Cordoba doubled the advantage late in the half before Yunus Malli made it 3-0 with a fine strike on the hour mark.
A resounding victory for the Bundesliga side was completed by Yoshinori Muto, who headed home the fourth after 74 minutes.
Liverpool will now turn their attentions to their Premier League opener against Arsenal next Sunday, when they will hope for a repeat of their performance against Barcelona, rather than their flat display in Germany.
Only Emre Can and Adam Lallana kept their places from the impressive win over Barca at Wembley, with Joel Matip making his comeback from injury, having not featured since limping off against Wigan three weeks ago, and Alex Manninger starting in goal.
Klopp was given a warm welcome on his return to Mainz, the club where he started his managerial career and spent seven years in charge.
But the much-changed Liverpool side were unable to make it a winning return for the German as they produced a flat display and rarely threatened around the box.
Mainz, by contrast, looked more incisive and took the lead after 15 minutes as Wisdom handled when he slid to block a cross and Brosinski converted the penalty.
Marko Grujic went off with an apparent ankle injury late in the half before Cordoba burst away from Matip and finished from a tight angle.
Malli scored a fine third in the 59th minute, finishing from the edge of the area after running unchallenged through the Liverpool half.
It was 4-0 soon afterwards as Muto headed home, and the closest Liverpool came to scoring was when Danny Ings turned the ball into the net from an offside position.
