Virgil van Dijk taken off with cut to the eye; Newcastle and West Ham also win
Wednesday 26 August 2020 10:37, UK
Rhian Brewster's double earned Liverpool a 2-2 comeback draw with Red Bull Salzburg as the Premier League champions continued their countdown to the new season.
The forward scored twice in the second half after two goals from Patson Daka put the hosts 2-0 ahead in Austria.
Georginio Wijnaldum replaced Curtis Jones at the Red Bull Arena in the only change to the side which beat Stuttgart 3-0.
Daka opened the scoring after three minutes and doubled it 10 minutes later from close range after a Salzburg break.
Liverpool lost central defender Virgil van Dijk with a cut above his right eye in the second half before Brewster made it 2-1.
The 20-year-old then secured a draw with nine minutes left when he lifted a cool finish into the net from 25 yards after Jones sparked panic in Salzburg's backline.
Jurgen Klopp allayed any concerns regarding Van Dijk's fitness after the draw, telling the club's official website: "Virg only looks like he has a piercing now and has a plaster on it. It should not be, and is, no problem. In the moment it is of course not cool but there will not be a problem."
Liverpool will face Arsenal in the Community Shield on Saturday and Mikel Arteta's side started their pre-season with a 4-1 win against MK Dons.
Mohamed Elneny - back from his loan spell in Turkey - fired Arsenal ahead inside four minutes before Eddie Nketiah added the second not long after.
MK Dons' goal came when Rob Holding diverted the ball past the returning Bernd Leno. Mark McGuinness scored Arsenal's third before Reiss Nelson converted from the spot to secure a comfortable Gunners victory.
Newcastle picked up a solid 3-0 win in their first pre-season match against Crewe Alexandra as their training camp in York continues with Steve Bruce naming a different XI in either half.
Andy Carroll broke the deadlock for the Magpies in the 39th minute before Christian Atsu doubled the lead two minutes after the break. Federico Fernandez then sealed the victory later in the half, although there was no place in the squad for new signing Jeff Hendrick.
West Ham were involved in two friendlies on Tuesday and won them both against Ipswich and Wycombe.
Sebastien Haller netted a hat-trick against Ipswich in a 4-1 victory with Tomas Soucek - who scored three times after the Premier League restart - adding his strike in the middle of two from his team-mate as the Hammers surged into the lead during a hectic five-minute period.
Former West Ham striker Freddie Sears scored the consolation for Ipswich with the score at 2-0.
But the contingent at Adams Park - coached by Alan Irvine and Stuart Pearce - went one better, beating newly-promoted Wycombe 5-1.
West Ham opened the scoring inside five minutes as Arthur Masuaku lashed home via the crossbar.
The lead was doubled when Darius Charles' backpass wriggled under the foot of goalkeeper David Stockdale before Wycombe pulled one back through Alex Samuel.
Manuel Lanzini and Jarrod Bowen then made it 4-1 to West Ham before half-time. Bowen added his second of the afternoon with the only goal of the second half to round off a comfortable victory for the Premier League side.
Crystal Palace also began their pre-season with a victory, beating Oxford United 2-1 at Selhurst Park.
It was a lively encounter too as Cameron Brannagan put the visitors ahead inside 12 minutes before James McCarthy was forced off not long after.
In the second half, Jeffrey Schlupp missed a penalty after a foul on Wilfried Zaha. But six minutes later, Crystal Palace were ahead thanks to goals from Zaha and James McArthur.
Meanwhile, Sheffield United's game against Dundee United was called off at half-time due to weather conditions. Billy Sharp's first half goal had seen the Blades lead 1-0.
Coventry made it two pre-season wins out of two after Jodi Jones scored a last-minute goal to give them a 3-2 victory at Burton Albion.
Two goals from new Burton signing Kane Hemmings either side of Jamie Allen's equaliser gave the League One side a 2-1 lead.
But goals from Amadou Bakayoko and Jones secured the comeback win for the Championship side.
