Arne Slot’s penchant for a pre-season doubleheader was back once again, and once again it was Spanish opposition as Athletic Club arrived to take on two different Liverpool sides back to back inside a full Anfield. 

The Dutch manager named a highly unfamiliar starting lineup as Darwin Nunez, Alexis Mac Allister and Andy Robertson were joined by the likes of Luca Stephenson, Ben Doak and Trey Nyoni, whilst Trent Kone-Doherty, Lewis Koumas and the returning Jayden Danns were all part of a fully fledged Under-21 bench. 

While a fire alarm may have evacuated the main stand until 15 minutes before kick off, there was nothing slow about the way Liverpool started when the talk of pre-season Rio Ngumoha took the ball from just inside the Reds’ half and carried it to 20 yards out before firing home and celebrating in front of the jubilant Kop. 

More chances came quickly, and it wasn’t long before the second goal arrived when Ngumoha eventually nodded a well-worked team move into the path of Nunez, who poked home before taking the adulation of the Kop, something that has become commonplace during his time at the club, often in spite of the noise circulating around his future. 

How to watch Liverpool vs Athletic Club double-header for FREE as Reds end pre-season	Ekitike's Anfield debut and Nunez's future - Liverpool wins vs Athletic Club assessed	Livrerpool 4 Athletic Club 1 Liverpool 3 Athletic Club 2 | Post Match Pint

Athletic rallied and produced moments, but it was Ben Doak who had the final say on the half, shifting in the box before firing home, moments after nearly scoring from all of 35 yards on the volley.

Capping off an impressive first 45 minutes for both talented wingers, who, quite frankly, are just great fun to watch. 

Summer signing Armin Pecsi replaced fellow new arrival Freddie Woodman at half-time as the Hungarian made his first outing for the club, the only change and he was immediately called into action 1v1 but stood up to the test expertly. 

Bilbao were better in the opening exchanges, but the first strike came when Harvey Elliott found space in the area to finish well and make it 4-0 Liverpool with little in the way of exertion. 

Changes came thick and fast as the likes of Trent Kone-Doherty, Wellity Lucky and Jayden Danns all got a taste of the occasion, albeit the latter has impressive previous experience when it comes to Anfield and will just be glad to be back out on the pitch again. 

Team two had a far stronger feel to it as Mohamed Salah captained the likes of Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Dominik Szoboszlai with new signing Will Wright named on the bench just over 24 hours after being named as a Liverpool player. 

It was a fast start by The Reds as Ekitike drove forwards down the left before picking out Salah unmarked in the box – always a risky strategy – who duly fired home to give the hosts the lead. 

Shortly after, however, it was all square as the ball broke kindly in the Liverpool area for Oihan Sanchet to drive beyond Giorgi Mamardashvili and give the Spanish side parity. 

Slot’s men created the more threatening moments as the half drew to a close, although there was little in the way of clear-cut chances, with the best falling to Ibrahima Konate, whose spectacular attempt at an overhead kick never truly threatened to result in a goal. 

A sublime counter-attack almost ended with a Cody Gakpo goal, but the Dutchman didn’t have to wait long as he tapped home a rebounded Ryan Gravnberch strike from close range. 

Almost out of nowhere, with a third seemingly beckoning, Maroan Sannadi’s header diverted off Gakpo and beyond a helpless Mamadashvili to level the scores once again. 

Clearly in the mood, Gakpo was once more the man for the job as having been denied initially, the forward fired underneath Unai Simon to give Liverpool the lead all over again.

Soon after, Wright completed a whirlwind 48 hours by coming on at Anfield to replace Florian Wirtz, some way to make an unofficial debut for your new club as a 17-year-old. 

Beyond belief, almost, Salah fluffed the chance to score from the spot when he blazed a Panenka way over the bar and into the Kop late on. 

Mamadashvili was called into action late on with a superb one-handed save in what was to be the last meaningful moment of a night that saw a raft of different players get minutes and Liverpool win back-to-back friendlies to round off their pre-season work.