Darwin Nunez scores hat-trick as Liverpool beat Stoke in behind-closed-doors friendly

Darwin Nunez netted a first-half hat-trick in just 14 minutes as Liverpool cruised to a 5-0 victory over Stoke City in a behind-closed-doors pre-season friendly on Sunday.

The Uruguayan forward, who continues to be linked with a summer departure from Anfield, had the Reds up 3-0 inside the opening 20 minutes.

Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa also found the net in a dominant display at Liverpool’s AXA Training Centre.

New signing Florian Wirtz, who arrived from Bayer Leverkusen for a club-record fee earlier this summer, featured in a strong first-half line-up that also included Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, and Dominik Szoboszlai.

Liverpool rang the changes at half-time, with 10 new players introduced. Ibrahima Konate, Cody Gakpo, Kostas Tsimikas, and Ryan Gravenberch all took part, along with summer arrivals Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong.

Giorgi Mamardashvili started in goal but was replaced by Armin Pécsi shortly before the hour mark. Alisson Becker was not involved in the match.

A selection of photos from our behind-closed-doors friendly win over Stoke City 📸

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 20, 2025

Reports suggest Liverpool remain in negotiations with Eintracht Frankfurt over a potential deal for Hugo Ekitike as they continue to explore ways to bolster their attacking options.

Meanwhile, another reported target, Alexander Isak, missed Newcastle’s 4-0 pre-season defeat to Celtic on Saturday.

Manager Eddie Howe attributed the absence to ongoing speculation around Isak’s future, though he added that he remains confident the striker will stay at St James’ Park despite interest from Liverpool.

Liverpool’s starting XI in the first half included Mamardashvili, Gomez, Van Dijk, Szoboszlai, Núñez, Salah, Jones, Robertson, Wirtz, Ngumoha, and Nyoni.

In the second half, the Reds lined up with Mamardashvili (replaced by Pecsi in the 59th minute), Endo, Konate, Chiesa, Gakpo, Tsimikas, Gravenberch, Doak (substituted by Stephenson in the 74th minute), Kerkez, Frimpong, and Bradley.

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