Highlights: Watch full highlights Liverpool 4-2 Karlsruher as Diogo Jota’s late brace seals preseason win

Highlights: Watch full highlights Liverpool 4-2 Karlsruher as Diogo Jota’s late brace seals preseason win

Liverpool started their 2023 preseason campaign with a comeback victory over German second tier side Karlsruher, thanks to Diogo Jota’s late double salvo.

Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo were also on target for the Reds in Germany, although they didn’t have everything their own way.

Lars Stindl cancelled out Nunez’s early strike with a fine volley, before Sebastian Jung’s goal saw Liverpool trail 2-1 for a large part of the second half.

Liverpool were without both their Saudi Arabia bound midfielders Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, as well as Alisson, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic – the latter trio left out as injury precautions.

Still, it looked like a straightforward evening was in store when Nunez struck within three minutes of kickoff.

The new Liverpool No.9 tried to square to Mo Salah in the box, but his pass was deflected back into his path and he then stroked home with his left foot.

Karlsruher were relishing the occasion, their first ever game in a new stadium, the BBBild Wildpark, and their fans roared them on to a deserved leveller, with Stindl volleying home via the underside of the crossbar before half-time to make it 1-1.

Klopp fielded an entirely different XI for the second half, but watched on as his charges went 2-1 down just minutes after the restart.

Experienced right-back Jung was afforded acres of space and he hammered into the roof of the net beyond stand-in goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros.

The young Liverpool second half side laboured to get level, but they did eventually achieve parity courtesy of their two experienced forwards – Jota and Gakpo.

First, the Portuguese’s headed knockdown found Gakpo, who swivelled and stroked home an equaliser.

Then Jota netted two sublime goals in added time, first slaloming through the hosts’ defence to slot into the net and finally latching onto a fine pass from new boy Alexis Mac Allister to put gloss on the scoreline.