Liverpool beat Tranmere Rovers 6-0 at Prenton Park in their opening pre-season friendly on Thursday evening, with Rhian Brewster helping himself to a first-half brace.
Brewster, who missed the whole of last season through injury, scored both of his goals from inside the six-yard box after Nathaniel Clyne had opened the scoring early on.
The Reds changed their entire side for the second half and they scored another three goals after the restart, with Curtis Jones, Divock Origi and Bobby Duncan adding their names to the scoresheet.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the pre-season friendly meeting between Tranmere Rovers and Liverpool at Prenton Park.
Less than six weeks on from lifting the Champions League in Madrid, the Reds are back in action with a short trip across the River Mersey for the fourth successive year.
The ultimate aim for Liverpool this season is to defender their European crown and end their long wait for a Premier League title, while opponents Tranmere are focusing on remaining in League One following their promotion in May.
LIVERPOOL TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Mignolet; Clyne, Phillips, Gomez, Larouci; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Milner, Lallana; Wilson, Brewster, Kent
SUBS: Jaros, Atherton, Hoever, Matip, Johnston, Lewis, Fabinho, Jones, Woodburn, Duncan, Glatzel, Origi
TRANMERE TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Davies; Caprice, Ray, Monthe, Ridehalgh; Bank, Perkins; Morris, Jennings, Blackett-Taylor; Mullin
SUBS: Pilling, Nelson, Thompson, Woods, Ponticelli, Gilmour, Miller, Spellman, Potter, Walker-Rice
KICKOFF: The spine of the side that guided Liverpool to their sixth European title are either coming to the end of their summer break, just starting it or still finishing their 2018-19 commitments - as is the case for Senegal international Sadio Mane. This is still a strong starting XI, though, and Jurgen Klopp is expected to rotate heavily at half time, too.
Every one of the youngsters in Liverpool's ranks this evening will be keen to impress, of course, though some have more of a point to prove than others. Wilson, Phillips and Kent can all stake a claim to potentially challenge for a first-team spot come the opening game of the Premier League season.
Liverpool have bossed possession in the opening five minutes. Kent nearly got in behind down the left but nothing came of the opportunity. Tranmere will be looking to keep the scores level for as long as possible, you feel.
GOAL! TRANMERE 0-1 LIVERPOOL (NATHANIEL CLYNE)
Liverpool take the lead through their first shot of the evening. Following some good build-up play, Brewster plays the ball into the feet of attacking full-back Clyne and he hammers it past Tranmere keeper Davies from 15 yards.
A momentary lapse from Gomez nearly proves costly. Perkins pounces on the loose ball and Mullin gets a shot away, but Gomez redeems himself by making the block inside the box. That is Tranmere's first sight of goal.
CHANCE! Larouci plays a give-and-go with Lallana and has just Davies to beat. His shot is powerful but is aimed pretty much right down the middle from eight yards, allowing the Tranmere keeper to push it over the crossbar. It should be 2-0.
Liverpool have already had a training session today, so it seems certain that we will see mass changes at half time - possibly even a full set of 11 subs. Wilson goes down in the box but the penalty is not given.
Following that penalty shout for Wilson a couple of minutes ago, it is probably worth mentioning that Tranmere fan Mike Dean is the referee this evening. That is an interest choice, even if it is just a friendly.
Kent shows some good footwork just outside the box and he manages to get a shot away, but it is blocked before it can make it as far as the goal. Liverpool have dominated the match but they have had just a couple of attempts of note.
The Reds are refusing to give their opponents a touch of the ball. Milner has become more involved but we have not seen a great deal from Oxlade-Chamberlain so far. Clyne's strike six minutes in is the difference between the teams at this point.
SAVE! Larouci is played into plenty of space down the right and he once again has just Davies to beat, albeit from far more of an angle on this occasion. The low shot is decent enough, but Davies is equal to it to keep the scoreline at just 1-0.
SAVE! With a quarter of the friendly played, Mignolet has his first save to make. Blackett-Taylor takes on a shot to nothing from 25 yards out, which the Belgian keeper pushes aside down to his right before pouncing on the loose ball.
Klopp actually confirmed just before the match that he will make 11 changes at the break, so a lot of the players on the field have just 20 minutes or so left to impress in this first friendly. Liverpool lead 1-0 but they would like a second before the interval.
Monthe stops Brewster in his tracks - illegally in the view of the referee. Liverpool have a free kick in a good shooting position and it looks as though the most experienced player out there, Milner, will take it.
It was actually set-piece expert Wilson who won the right to take on the free kick from 25 yards, which was blocked by Jennings in the Tranmere wall. Liverpool are guilty of overplaying at the moment - they need to get the ball into the box more.
SHOT! The ball is played through to Brewster by Oxlade-Chamberlain, but Monthe defends the danger well. Liverpool win a free kick, take it quickly and Kent bursts into the box, only to fire high and wide with his shot from a difficult angle. Up the other end, Morris goes down under contact from Larouci but no pen is awarded.
Lallana runs out of space as Tranmere defend this latest Liverpool attack. Kent desperately tries to make something happen but he is unable to get away from his man in the box. Lallana and Wilson then link up but there is no shot at the end of it.
SAVE! It's pass, pass, pass for Liverpool but the have been reluctant to shoot. Milner thinks about it, instead passes it to Lallana and then finally get a chance to pull the trigger when it is played back to him. The shot is on target but saved by Davies.
Half time is fast approaching and Liverpool are knocking on the door for a second. Davies has had a couple of saves to make since Clyne opened the scoring early on. Remember, Klopp is going to make 11 changes for the second half.
GOAL! TRANMERE 0-2 LIVERPOOL (RHIAN BREWSTER)
Milner drives the ball across goal and Wilson manages to play it back into the six-yard box from the back post, where Brewster reacts quickly to head past Davies. The youngster celebrates the goal pretty wildly - that means a lot to him.
SAVE! Blackett-Taylor has been Tranmere's standout player in this first half. The summer signing carries the ball forward and drives a shot on target from more than 25 yards out, which Mignolet deals with in a routine manner.
Liverpool seem pretty happy to hear the half-time whistle now. This has been a decent run-out for them; a nice way to ease themselves in ahead of a long campaign. The visitors are knocking the ball around inside their own half at the moment.
GOAL! TRANMERE 0-3 LIVERPOOL (RHIAN BREWSTER)
Liverpool score a third goal from what is surely the final meaningful piece of action in the first half. Milner's shot from 20 yards is parried by Davies and Brewster again reacts quickest to fire it into the roof of the net.
HALF TIME: TRANMERE 0-3 LIVERPOOL
Liverpool take a pretty commanding 3-0 lead into half time thanks to a Brewster brace after Clyne had given his side an early lead. The Reds' first-half XI can be happy with their efforts at Prenton Park.
Liverpool were ahead with less than six minutes played as Clyne hammered the ball past Davies after being teed up by Brewster 15 yards out.
Davies produced a couple of stops to deny Larouci - the first a straightforward save down the middle and the second a good save down low.
Milner was also denied by Davies from 20 yards, but he played a big part in the second goal as his cross was helped back into the middle by Wilson and Brewster reacted well to head home.
Tranmere had a couple of lively moments in the first half as Blackett-Taylor twice tested Mignolet, yet they found themselves three goals down at the interval as Brewster again reacted quickest to fire home after Milner's latest long-ranger was parried.
LIVERPOOL SECOND-HALF XI: Jaros; Hoever, Matip, Johnston, Lewis; Woodburn, Fabinho, Jones; Glatzel, Origi, Duncan
TRANMERE SUBS: Pilling, Nelson, Thompson, Woods, Ponticelli, Gilmour, Miller, Spellman, Potter, Walker-Rice
KICKOFF: Tranmere get us back underway at Prenton Park in this opening pre-season friendly for Liverpool. Origi will skipper the Reds in the second half, fresh on the back of signing a new long-term deal with the club.
Payne, another of Tranmere's new signings, tries to get away from his man down the left but the ball is played back to Jaros in the Liverpool goal. It has been a pretty flat start to the second period.
Tranmere look a little less disjointed than their opponents, which is understandable given Klopp changed his entire side at the break. Liverpool, three goals to the good from the first half, need to find a bit of rhythm.
There are three Champions League winners in Liverpool's ranks for the second period - Origi, Matip and Fabinho. The Reds have still yet to offer anything since the restart, though Tranmere have also been a bit sloppy.
GOAL! TRANMERE 0-4 LIVERPOOL (CURTIS JONES)
From their first real attack of the second period, Liverpool add a fourth goal to their tally. Woodburn floats the ball towards the back post and Jones sends his controlled shot flying into the back of the net - that was a very good finish.
Tranmere's heads have dropped. Lewis sends in a decent delivery from the right but it is gathered down low. At the other end, Dean has another decision to make and he again decides not to point to the spot after Tyler-Blackett hit the ground.
GOAL! TRANMERE 0-5 LIVERPOOL (DIVOCK ORIGI)
Liverpool have themselves a fifth goal and it is second-half skipper Origi who scores it. The Belgian does brilliantly to control a long ball over the top from Matip, almost stopping the ball dead before rounding the keeper and slotting it home.
That was a very good goal from Origi, who proved last season that he can add a lot to this Liverpool side. The Reds have barely got out of second gear in the second half, yet they have scored twice to add to their three goals form the first half.
Liverpool are continuing to toy with their opponents. The game became incredibly open in the minute or so leading to the Reds' fifth goal, but normal service has been resumed since then. Woodburn's acrobatic shot sails over the crossbar.
Klopp will no doubt want his side to push on and score a sixth, seven and an eighth goal before full time. The Reds have looked very good this evening, scoring pretty much through every chance they have created.
GOAL! TRANMERE 0-6 LIVERPOOL (BOBBY DUNCAN)
Hoever weaves his way past a couple of defenders and the ball is worked to Duncan, who converts from close range with another simple finish on his first senior outing for Liverpool. Terrible defending from Tranmere!
DISALLOWED GOAL! Walker-Rice has the ball in the back of the net for Tranmere but it is ruled out for offside. Replays show that he was offside, so that was a good call from the officials. Up the other end, Woodburn is unable to pick out a teammate after doing the hard work.
Glatzel lands awkwardly when jumping for the ball and the physio is required. Liverpool have one sub left on the bench, but that is a goalkeeper so they will need to bring on one of the players who made way at the end of the first half.
It appears as though Dan Atherton, a goalkeeper, is going to come on for Glatzel. Klopp clearly does not fancy risking any of his outfield players, each of whom have already played 45 minutes. Tranmere are starting to see more of the ball, mainly because Liverpool are allowing them to.
LIVERPOOL SUB! Confirmation of that substitution for the Reds - goalkeeper Atherton is on for injured outfield player Glatzel for the final 13 minutes or so.
The match has gone very stale since Liverpool scored their sixth goal. The Reds have scored a few of their goals during such periods in the match, though, so do not rule out a seventh goal being netted soon.
Liverpool can be forgiven for going through the motions at this point. There are less than 10 minutes of normal time to go and referee Mike Dean - a Tranmere fan - is unlikely to add anything on at the end. Some brave defending from Woods prevents a seventh goal.
Woods was caught on the back of the head by Atherton when defending the cross towards the back post, leading to another stoppage in play. Tranmere boss Micky Mellon will be happy with that - we are another minute closer to full time!
Yet another fine first touch from Origi - you get the impression he is going to play a big part this season. We are into the final five minutes at Prenton Park and there does not look as though there will be another goal - famous last words, perhaps?
Woodburn plays the ball into the box and Atherton nearly gets on the end of it - what a story it would be if the third-choice goalkeeper scores. The Reds are looking the more likely of the sides to score the next goal of what has been a one-sided match.
We are into the final 60 seconds or so now. Tranmere had a goal rightly ruled out and a few shots kept out either side of half time, but there is no doubt that they have been completely outclassed by their Premier League opponents today.
FULL TIME: TRANMERE 0-6 LIVERPOOL
Liverpool beat Tranmere Rovers 6-0 at Prenton Park in their opening pre-season friendly, with Brewster helping himself to a first-half brace.
Brewster, who missed the whole of last season through injury, scored both of his goals from inside the six-yard box after Clyne had opened the scoring early on.
The Reds changed their entire side for the second half and they scored another three goals after the restart, with Jones, Origi and Duncan adding their names to the scoresheet.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from Merseyside. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, and be sure to join us again on Saturday afternoon as we bring you updates from Manchester United's pre-season friendly against Perth Glory. See you then!
