Florian Wirtz Scores First Goal For Liverpool In 3-1 Victory Over Yokohama F. Marinos

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Liverpool concluded their pre-season tour in Asia with a 3-1 victory over Yokohama F. Marinos, witnessed by a full house at Nissan Stadium. Florian Wirtz scored his first goal for the club, while Hugo Ekitike made his debut. Despite trailing initially, Liverpool turned the game around in the second half.

Arne Slot's squad started strong but couldn't score in the first half. Cody Gakpo hit the post, and Dominik Szoboszlai narrowly missed after a superb pass from Mohamed Salah. Ekitike, who joined from Eintracht Frankfurt for up to €91 million, was substituted at halftime.

Yokohama took the lead in the 55th minute through Asahi Uenaka's low shot. However, Liverpool equalised seven minutes later when Wirtz finished off a counter-attack initiated by Salah. Jeremie Frimpong then assisted Trey Nyoni to put Liverpool ahead five minutes later.

Sixteen-year-old Rio Ngumoha added another goal to his pre-season tally by skilfully manoeuvring past a defender and finding the bottom-right corner of the net. This marked his second goal of the pre-season campaign.

Wirtz had previously played 45 minutes in Liverpool's 4-2 loss to AC Milan on Saturday and was on the field for 64 minutes against Yokohama before being replaced. His final touch was memorable as he scored following Curtis Jones' clever dummy, hinting at more goals to come for Liverpool fans.

Wirtz's Impressive Record

Last season, Wirtz netted 16 goals in the Bundesliga and provided 14 assists. Among Bayer Leverkusen players, only Patrik Schick surpassed him with 27 goals. Fans are hopeful that Wirtz will replicate this form at Liverpool.