AS Monaco rally to beat Liverpool 3-2 in pre-season friendly at Anfield
AS Monaco came from two goals down to beat Liverpool 3-2 at Anfield in a pre-season friendly on Sunday, August 9. Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz put Liverpool ahead before Monaco's Aleksandr Golovin, Mika Biereth and Paris Brunner completed the turnaround.
Liverpool took the lead through Alexander Isak in the 16th minute after the Swede received an accurate pass in the box, took a first touch and fired into the bottom right corner. Florian Wirtz doubled the advantage just before the half-hour mark, bundling the ball into the net after a scramble in the area. Monaco reduced the deficit just before half-time when Virgil van Dijk fouled Aleksandr Golovin in the box and Golovin converted the penalty from 12 yards.
Monaco levelled in the 56th minute when Mika Biereth beat Alisson with a fine finish, and Paris Brunner headed the winner in the 88th minute to complete the visitors' comeback. The late goal proved decisive despite Liverpool applying sustained pressure earlier in the second half.
Alexander Isak, whose move to Anfield was described in the report as a world-record transfer, had not scored for Liverpool since April; that strike in this friendly was his fourth goal for his new side. The report added that Isak would be pleased to have found the net and might take confidence from the finish despite the match being a friendly.
Austrian defender Ifeanyi Ndukwe, who joined Liverpool from Austria Wien, featured in the first half and won all three of his tackles while making two recoveries, the report said, marking him out as a bright spot in central defence alongside Virgil van Dijk.
Florian Wirtz was singled out for a strong showing, with the report saying he had often looked short on confidence in his debut season but produced a man-of-the-match performance here before being substituted just before the hour mark; he scored Liverpool’s second goal and created a significant chance during the match.
The match ended 3-2 in favour of AS Monaco, who mounted a comeback from two goals down to win at Anfield. The report noted Andoni Iraola would likely be concerned about how quickly his side surrendered their lead.
