Watch Darwin Nunez four goals in second-half, his first for his new team, to help Liverpool win 5-0 at RB Leipzig; Mohamed Salah was also on target for the Reds at the Red Bull Arena

 Liverpool's club-record £85 million signing Darwin Nunez opened his account for his new side by scoring four second-half goals to help the Reds thrash RB Leipzig 5-0 in a pre-season friendly at the Red Bull Arena.

Nunez, who moved to Anfield from Benfica earlier this summer, started the game on the bench with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp opting to field a strong-looking starting line-up as he continued preparations ahead of the new campaign.

However, after Mohamed Salah had given his team a half-time lead with a well-taken early finish, it became the Nunez show after the interval, with the Uruguay striker netting a 20-minute hat-trick, before rounding off a memorable game with a last-minute goal as the visitors cruised to a comfortable victory

How Nunez opened his Liverpool account

With the new Premier League season now just over a fortnight away and a showdown with champions Manchester City in the Community Shield on the horizon, Klopp started with what could be considered his first-choice XI in Germany and it paid dividends as his players produced a polished display.

With fitness levels improving with each outing, this looked more like the Liverpool team we saw in their record-breaking campaign last season than the side that were humbled 4-0 by rivals Manchester United in Bangkok ten days ago.

On it from the off, the visitors led after just eight minutes as Leipzig made a mess of clearing the ball, allowing Roberto Firmino's clever flick to slip Salah in on goal, with the forward making no mistake with a cool side-footed finish into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal.

Both sides had chances to add to the first-half scoring, with Adrian - covering for the injured Alisson - making a smart reaction stop to deny Christoper Nkunku on the stroke of half-time, before the introduction of Nunez as the central striker for Firmino at the break.

And it took the frontman just three minutes to get off the mark for his new team as Luiz Diaz was taken out in the box by the hosts' substitute goalkeeper to hand the Reds a penalty, with Salah passing over spot-kick responsibilities to his new strike partner.

Team news

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp opted to field a strong-looking starting XI as his side's preparations for the new campaign gathered pace.

The German went with his first-choice back four, while Adrian continued to deputise for the injured Alisson in goal.

Meanwhile, there was a three-man midfield consisting of Fabinho, Naby Keita and Thiago Alcantara as skipper Jordan Henderson dropped down to the bench, with Luiz Diaz and Mo Salah either side of Roberto Firmino as the central striker.

However, the Reds were still without the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Diogo Jota with injury.

Nunez made no mistake from the spot, despite Janis Blaswich guessing the right way and getting a hand to his strike, before adding a second three minutes later.

Thiago Alcantara initially did well to win back possession deep inside Leipzig's half with his outstretched leg, before Trent Alexander-Arnold fed Nunez and the Uruguay forward found the back of the net with an accurate shot off the inside of the far post.

Midway through the second half the 23-year-old completed his hat-trick with a real poacher's goal from six yards, touching home Harvey Elliot's cross from the right byline as he was engulfed by all his team-mates.

However, the new man had not finished there and as the match entered its final minute, fellow sub Fabio Carvalho broke forward and released the striker down the left side of the area, before his drive somehow found its way through Blaswich to complete a memorable night for the most expensive player in Liverpool's history.