Rate it!

7 votes

Lucas Leiva and Andriy Voronin helped Liverpool claim a 2-1 win over Swiss Super League outfit FC Lucerne in their second pre-season friendly.

Reds boss Rafael Benitez handed new goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri the gloves for his debut, while fellow newcomer Philipp Degen was also in a first XI which included Spaniard Danny Pacheco but not Steven Gerrard, who was left on the bench.

Pacheco was the architect of the 10th-minute opener, combining well with Brazil midfielder Lucas before the latter slotted home coolly to round off the move.

Benitez's men were pegged back soon after when Degen failed to win a far-post header, allowing the ball to break to Gavranovic who converted an uncontested header.

Pacheco and Yossi Benayoun both shone in the first half and the visitors soon moved back into the lead through the equally impressive Voronin.

The Ukraine forward took control of the ball 16 yards from goal before producing a sweetly-hit lob to make it 2-1.

Voronin, a constant thorn for the Lucerne defence in the second half, went close to grabbing a second but there were no further goals.

There was, though, one further plus for Benitez who gave Dutch winger Ryan Babel his first 45 minutes since sustaining an ankle injury in his country's Euro 2008 preparations.

West Brom slipped to a 2-1 defeat to Bundesliga Two champions Borussia Monchengladbach in the opening game of their pre-season tour of Germany.

The match, held at the neutral German venue of Goch, saw Monchengladbach take the lead through Roberto Colautti on the stroke of half-time.

Dutch Under-21 star Sherjill MacDonald, on as a substitute, put the Baggies level after 64 minutes when he drilled home from 20 yards.

The parity lasted just nine minutes, though, Moses Lambidi restoring his team's one-goal cushion when he beat the otherwise impressive Dean Kiely in the the West Brom goal.

New signing Marek Cech watched his team-mates from the sidelines but former Aston Villa forward Luke Moore made his first start since his loan move was made permanent.

The only fitness concern for manager Tony Mowbray was Robert Koren, who was replaced on the hour with a slight limp.

England striker Jermain Defoe continued where he left off last season with a goal in Portsmouth's 1-1 draw with Exeter .

Harry Redknapp's side start their campaign against Manchester United in the Community Shield on August 10 and got their preparations off to an encouraging start when home defender Matthew Gill's foul earned them a penalty inside 10 minutes.

Defoe buried it with his customary aplomb but spurned the chance to add a second after 18 minutes when he missed the target when presented with a good chance.

Pompey made nine changes to their team at the break, with Linvoy Primus, who missed the whole of last season through injury, a welcome addition.

The changes had a destabilising effect and Rob Edwards equalised for Exeter two minutes after the restart.

New signing Peter Crouch remained on the bench throughout.

TeamTalk / Eurosport