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Liverpool Legends defeated an Ajax team 4-2 at Anfield, in a charity game which saw Sven-Goran Eriksson live out his dream to manage the Reds.
The Dutch visitors went two goals clear by half-time, courtesy of goals from Derk Boerrigter and Kiki Musampa.
However, Liverpool looked like a different team after the break, and completed a stunning second-half comeback, with goals coming from Gregory Vignal, Djibril Cisse, Nabil El Zhar and Fernando Torres.
Boerrigter scored inside two minutes with a close range header to get the Dutch visitors off to a flying start.
Torres had a couple of opportunities to find himself an equaliser, hitting the post in the process on one occasion, before Demy de Zeeuw blocked on the goalline to deny Steven Gerrard.
Fernando Torres scored Liverpool’s fourth goal as they beat Ajax Legends 4-2 at Anfield
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Just before the break, Musampa took advantage of poor Liverpool defending to double the Dutch advantage from six yards out.
Six changes were made by Liverpool during the intermission, and they came out with a renewed energy that helped them to change the circumstances of the charity friendly – but only after Musampa had hit the bar for Ajax.
Vignal’s fine strike ten minutes into the second half got the Reds going, before he ran to embrace Eriksson on the touchline.
A young Liverpool fan came onto the pitch for a selfie with Gerrard – and whilst such action is usually frowned upon, the Reds legend was happy to oblige on this occasion, while fans pantomime booed as the young lad was ushered away.
Ryan Babel – a former Liverpool and Ajax player – hit the post for the Dutch side, before Cisse equalised 15 minutes from time.
El Zhar smashed the Reds into the lead five minutes later, and Torres, who had been frustrated throughout the entire match, was able to score from close range to round off the 4-2 victory for Liverpool.
The sold-out crowd were raising funds for LFC Foundation, which does charity work around the city and internationally.
The Liverpool website reports that since 2017, legends matches have raised more than £6.4m in vital funds, with the Foundation supporting almost 123,000 individuals last season alone.
This year’s money will be used to support the Foundation’s education programmes, tackling social issues in Liverpool.
More to follow…