Liverpool 3-1 Yokohama FM (Jul 30, 2025) Game Analysis – ESPN

Florian Wirtz scored his first goal for Liverpool as the Premier League champions came from behind to beat J1 League side Yokohama F. Marinos 3-1 in a preseason friendly in Japan.

There had initially been concern about whether the game would go ahead after a tsunami warning was issued following an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the eastern coast of Russia in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

However, it was deemed safe for the match to take place, with Wirtz and teenage duo Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha scoring for the visitors at the Nissan Stadium after Asahi Uenaka had given Yokohama the lead early in the second half.

Striker Hugo Ekitike made his debut for Liverpool following his £69million ($92.1m) move from Eintracht Frankfurt and came close to putting Arne Slot’s ahead with an audacious back-heel in the 25th minute.

Cody Gakpo hit the post for Liverpool while Giorgi Mamardashvili — deputising for Alisson Becker, who has returned to Brazil for person reasons — made an excellent save to deny Jun Amano before the break.

The hosts took the lead after Uenaka applied the finishing touch to a slick move early in the second half.

However, Liverpool bounced back through Wirtz, who finished emphatically from close range after some fine work from Mohamed Salah on the right wing. Midfielder Nyoni, 18, then found the back of the net with an acrobatic finish following a superb cross from Jeremie Frimpong.

Fellow teenager Ngumoha, 16, rounded off a strong second-half performance with a stunning individual strike three minutes from time.

The victory completes Liverpool’s preseason tour of the Far East, with the Reds having suffered a 4-2 defeat to AC Milan on Saturday. They will now return to the UK where they will host Athletic Club in a double-header of friendlies at Anfield on Aug. 4.