Roberto Firmino inspires Liverpool to winning start in pre-season with 3-0 victory over Stuttgart

Reds have just one more game to play before the Community Shield at Wembley

Firmino celebrates his goal for Liverpool (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Liverpool’s pre-season campaign got off and running with a 3-0 win over Stuttgart on Saturday.

The Premier League champions faced the newly promoted German Bundesliga side in Austria, where Jurgen Klopp’s men have been undergoing a training camp this week.

Klopp fielded a different team in each half, with the starting line-up sending the Reds in two goals clear at the break after finishes from Roberto Firmino and Naby Keita.

Rhian Brewster then added a third after the break in difficult conditions, with a torrential downpour hampering play for most of the first half and the pitch then being cut up once the rain stopped.

New signing Kostas Tsimikas made his first appearance in a Liverpool shirt, playing the second half at left-back.

Firmino opened the scoring with a close-range finish after a great run down the left channel from Curtis Jones, before the Brazilian then turned provider for Naby Keita who finished well at the near post.

Brewster’s goal was a simple volley after finding himself in space in the area, with the youngster impressing in his 45-minute run-out amid continued reported interest in his services from a host of clubs for this coming season.

Several regulars were missing from Liverpool’s first game, with Jordan Henderson still recovering from an injury picked up at the end of last term, Trent Alexander-Arnold not having travelled due to a slight issue and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain suffering a knee injury this week.

After the game, Klopp told LFCTV he was pleased with the game in tough circumstances, picking out debutant Tsimikas for some “nice glimpses of his talent” and Takumi Minamino for looking in “pretty good shape”.

Liverpool next face RB Salzburg on Tuesday before heading back to Merseyside in preparation for the Community Shield against Arsenal next weekend.