Hertha Berlin 4-3 Liverpool: Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez FINALLY make their returns from injury… but the Dutchman is beaten by ex-City man Stevan Jovetic who nets two against Jurgen Klopp’s men
- Liverpool lost to Hertha Berlin a thrilling pre-season friendly in Austria
- The Bundesliga side went 2-0 up through Santiago Ascacibar and Suat Serder
- Liverpool clawed themselves back through Sadio Mane and Takumi Minamino
- Former Manchester City striker Stevan Jovetic scored twice on his Hertha debut
- The game saw the return of both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez for 20 minutes
Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez made their returns for Liverpool in a game which saw former Manchester City striker Stevan Jovetic score twice to seal a thrilling victory for Hertha Berlin.
The pair made their first appearances since the early stages of last season in a huge boost to Liverpool ahead of the new season with Van Dijk not featuring since the Merseyside Derby last October and Gomez being out since November.
Both men got over 20 minutes in a disappointing loss for the Reds but a good start for the two defenders’ road to recovery.
Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez made their returns for Liverpool’s friendly with Hertha Berlin
The Bundesliga side walked out with the win though putting four past Jurgen Klopp’s side
In a game which Liverpool dominated the possession and shots statistics, they found themselves 2-0 down in the first-half.
Marvin Plattenhardt played a wicked ball from a free-kick which evaded the Liverpool defence allowing Santiago Ascacibar to poke the ball home from close range.
The goalscorer was replaced after coming together with Caoimhin Kelleher while scoring the first goal though his midfield partner soon doubled the score.
Some neat play by Hertha saw Suat Serder smash the ball from an acute angle past the keeper to take a shock 2-0 lead.
Liverpool recovered well as Kostas Tsimikas took advantage of a sloppy throw-in before squaring the ball to Sadio Mane to tap home.
Then three minutes before half-time Naby Keita won the ball in midfield and found Mo Salah who produced a brilliant backheel giving Takumi Minamino a simple tap-in.
Liverpool as expected made a number of changes at half-time and started the second 45 brightly though couldn’t find the back of the net.
Hertha took a 2-0 first-half lead through goals by Santiago Ascacibar and Suat Serder
Sadio Mane got one back for the Reds after Kostas Tsimikas capitalised on a mistake
Takumi Minamino brought Liverpool square after a beautiful backheel by Mo Salah
Van Dijk and Gomez came on after 69 minutes to big applause from Liverpool fans at the game
Stevan Jovetic who has scored a brace against Liverpool twice before in his career, scored against the Reds within seconds of being brought on after heading home.
Not long after Van Dijk and Gomez came on to a big roar from the Liverpool fans in attendance and every touch of the ball was cheered by their supporters.
Hertha though made it 4-2 when Jovetic scored a brace after avoiding challenges by Van Dijk and Andy Robertson before smashing the ball home.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would get one back with a well struck volley but Liverpool fell to their first pre-season defeat.
Klopp’s side will next go on to face Bologna in two 60-minute friendlies in France, before returning to Anfield for friendlies against Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna before the season gets underway.
Van Dijk shakes Stevan Jovetic’s hand who scored twice on his Hertha Berlin debut
Van Dijk and Gomez’s comeback ended in defeat but their return is a big boost for Liverpool