Crowd congestion meant that the kick off had to be delayed by 15 minutes, but Liverpool wasted no time when we finally got underway and they were ahead inside five minutes.

The breakthrough came when Riise made the first of what would become a series of powerful runs down the left and when he crossed to Anderson at the far post, the former Hull youngster treated the sell-out crowd to a wonderful volleyed finish.

Reds boss Rafa Benitez handed debuts to Craig Bellamy and Gabriel Paletta in this game and they both showed good touches despite an obvious lack of match sharpness. Paletta was substituted in one of eight changes made by Rafa at the break, but Bellamy stayed on and he scored a debut goal to make it 2-0 after 52 minutes.

The half time introduction of Robbie Fowler meant that Rafa could have a first look at one of his potential strike partnerships and it took seven minutes for them to click because it was Fowler's pass that allowed Bellamy to run on and steer the ball passed Jones and into the net. Bellamy was substituted soon after, but he looked well happy with his day's work as he shook hands with his Manager on the touchline.

It took a good save from Jones to stop Pongolle from making it 3-0 in the 70th minute, but we were to see little more goalmouth action as the clocked ticked down. Rafa Benitez will be pleased that he has been able to give so many of his squad a run out and they will head for Crewe next week looking to step up their preparation for the new Premiership season.