Liverpool marked their return to action with defeat as they were beaten 3-1 by Lyon in the first of their two mid-season friendlies.
The Reds had taken the lead through Fabio Carvalho with less than 60 seconds on the clock and missed a golden chance to further build on their impressive start when Mohamed Salah saw a penalty saved shortly after.
However, Lyon made the most of that let-off as they levelled the game before the break through Alexandre Lacazette.
And the French side kicked on again in the second half, getting in front through a goal from substitute Bradley Barcola before Lacazette grabbed a second to seal the result.
Liverpool were then denied the consolation of a bonus point in the post-match penalty shootouts that are a feature of the Dubai Super Cup, a saved Calvin Ramsay effort proving the difference.
But Jurgen Klopp's side will have a chance to put things right when they face Milan in their second and final friendly on Friday.
Liverpool vs. Lyon result
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| Liverpool | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Lyon | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Lyon win post-match penalty shootout 5-3
Goals:
LIV: Carvalho (1st min)
LYO: Lacazette (41st min)
LYO: Barcola (65th min)
LYO: Lacazette (83rd min)
First-half encouragement for Klopp
Although the day ultimately ended in defeat for Liverpool, you suspect Klopp won't be too worried by what he saw during their first friendly.
The Reds looked incredibly sharp in the opening 45 minutes when they had a team out that mostly closely resembled their first-choice XI.
And it was only after a flurry of changes in the second period that they started to be run ragged by a Lyon side who are one game ahead in their preparations for the return of club football.
There were enough signs in this friendly contest that Klopp's side will be ready once the Premier League is back.
Carvalho makes his case
After Liverpool suffered the cruel blow of losing Luis Diaz to injury again, and with Diogo Jota out until February at least, a vacancy on the left-hand side of the attack remains.
Darwin Nunez occupied that role in the weeks before the break, but you feel the Uruguayan would be better served by being played in his natural centre-forward position.
That opens up the possibility of opportunities arising for the likes of Carvalho, who could not have done more to make a strong case than to score so early here.
The youngster will hope this the start of a big post-World Cup period for him on a personal level.
Elliott injury blow a concern
It may not have been the only reason for Liverpool's struggles in the early part of this season, but injuries were certainly a major contributory factor.
And so it was not particularly encouraging to see Harvey Elliott come off the pitch shaking his head in the first half of this game.
The youngster was one of the highlights of the first part of this campaign for the Reds and they could do without him facing time on the sidelines.
Liverpool vs. Lyon as it happened
Lyon win the shootout 5-3 to take four points from this Dubai Super Cup clash.
9th penalty: Da Silva to take for Lyon... SCORES! Lyon 5-3 Liverpool
8th penalty: Keita to take for Liverpool... SCORES! Lyon 4-3 Liverpool
7th penalty: Tete to take for Lyon... SCORES! Lyon 4-2 Liverpool
6th penalty: Oxlade-Chamberlain to take for Liverpool... SCORES! Lyon 3-2 Liverpool
5th penalty: Cherki to take for Lyon... SCORES! Lyon 3-1 Liverpool
4th penalty: Ramsay to take for Liverpool... SAVED! Lyon 2-1 Liverpool
3rd penalty: Barcola to take for Lyon... SCORES! Lyon 2-1 Liverpool
2nd penalty: Tsimikas to take for Liverpool... SCORES! Lyon 1-1 Liverpool
1st penalty: Caqueret to take for Lyon... SCORES! Lyon 1-0 Liverpool
FULLTIME: All over at Al Maktoum Stadium, where the two sides will now go head-to-head on spot-kicks with an extra point at stake.
90th min: Two minutes of added time to play before that penalty shootout.
83rd min: GOAL! Lyon finally get the third goal they deserve.
It comes from Lacazette, who emphatically smashes the ball home after Adrian had denied Kumbedi in a one-on-one situation.
80th min: A great save from Adrian keeps it at 2-1.
The chance comes about thanks to a lightning quick one-two between Lacazette and Kumbedi that results in the latter failing to poke the ball home.
76th min: Lyon close to sealing the win!
Barcola sizes up Phillips in the box and fools him by taking on an early shot that crashes back off the upright and ultimately to safety with Tete unable to turn the rebound home.
69th min: A second-half flurry of substitutions have served to deprive the game of its original flow, but there is still plenty of time for Liverpool to get back in this.
Don't forget, there will also be a post-match penalty shootout regardless of how this finishes - a quirk of the Dubai Super Cup.
65th min: GOAL! Lyon lead for the first time!
Cherki shows brilliant feet to set it up, bobbing and weaving beyond three or four challenges in the box before rolling the ball to Barcola for a simple finish in at the far post.
55th min: Phillips tries a shot from the edge of the box that threatens to go in after taking a wicked deflection, but it ultimately drops the wrong side of the post.
That would have been a collector's item from the centre-back: a left-footed goal from distance.
50th min: An understandable plea from this Liverpool fan, who must have seen England at the World Cup.
📍Los aficionados Reds que están presentes en el Al-Maktoum Stadium tienen un deseo 🔴 pic.twitter.com/qYFxWDeLTE
— EstoEsAnfield ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (19🏆) (@estoesanfield_) December 11, 2022
47th min: Ramsay cuts in on his left foot and arrows a shot toward the bottom corner that Lopes does well to get down to and tip round the post.
The goalkeeper doesn't get credit for his save, though, with the referee awarding a goalkick.
46th min: Lyon get the game restarted.
Caoimhin Kelleher, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Nat Phillips, Kostas Tsimikas, Bobby Clark and Calvin Ramsay on for Liverpool, Adrian San Miguel, Stefan Bajcetic, Joel Matip, Melkamu Frauendorf, Andy Robertson and Fabio Carvalho off.
HALFTIME: The whistle sounds at Al Maktoum Stadium and Liverpool and Lyon are level at the break.
41st min: GOAL! Lacazette levels it up!
It's gift-wrapped for the Frenchman, who has an empty net to tap into after a mix-up between Kelleher and Robertson sees neither man deal with a harmless ball in behind.
35th min: Dembele finds some space in behind the Liverpool defence and gets a powerful shot away which Kelleher is equal to.
29th min: An early change for Liverpool as Elliott makes way for Frauendorf. That's a worry for the Reds - Elliott didn't look happy as he left the pitch.
19th min: Thiago gets Salah away with a brilliant crossfield ball and the Egyptian picks out Elliott on the overlap to create a dangerous situation.
However, his touch is a little too heavy, and Lopes gets down to cut out the subsequent pullback.
14th min: SAVED! Salah goes down the middle of the goal and, while Lopes dives to his left, he manages to get his legs up to kick the ball away.
14th min: PENALTY TO LIVERPOOL!
Salah dinks a ball in behind the Lyon defence and Firmino beats Gusto to it before taking a clip that invites the referee to point to the spot.
9th min: Liverpool looking very lively in these opening minutes, consistently winning the ball in dangerous positions with an aggressive press and playing some slick football in between.
Jurgen Klopp will be very happy with what he's seeing.
1st min: GOAL! Liverpool are ahead inside the first minute!
Salah looks to dart in behind and onto a Firmino pass and, though he can't get the ball under control, it bounces rather fortuitously into the path of Carvalho, who taps it into an empty net.
1st min: Liverpool get the game under way.
10 mins from kickoff: The players finish off their warm-ups as we close in on kickoff in Dubai.
Getting set in Dubai 👌
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 11, 2022
35 mins from kickoff: Jurgen Klopp has been speaking to LFCTV ahead of the game: "In training sessions it was brilliant so far, really intense, focus good, level really good, but of course we do all these kind of things for putting it on the real pitch and it's the first opportunity for us today. So I will not put it too high but it's important."
1 hr from kickoff: Here's the team news!
Liverpool: Kelleher, Milner, Matip, Gomez, Robertson, Elliott, Bajcetic, Thiago, Salah, Firmino, Carvalho
Lyon: Lopes, Henrique, Lukeba, Diomande, Gusto, T.Mendes, Caqueret, Tolisso, Aouar, Dembele, Lacazette.
1 hr 10 mins from kickoff: Not long now until we hear the team news and, despite a few of his squad jetting off for the World Cup, Jurgen Klopp still has a strong squad available to him for this mid-season training camp. Some big names should feature today.
1 hr 30 mins from kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of Liverpool vs Lyon in the Dubai Super Cup. We'll be bringing you updates from the first of the Reds' two mid-season friendlies out in the Middle East.
Liverpool vs. Lyon lineups
As expected, Liverpool name a strong lineup featuring several big-hitters who did not take part in the World Cup, including Mohamed Salah, Thiago Alcantara and Roberto Firmino. Fabio Carvalho is the one to benefit from Luis Diaz's absence through injury with a start on the left-hand side.
Liverpool lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 62. Kelleher — 7. Milner, 32. Matip, 2. Gomez, 26. Robertson — 6. Thiago , 43. Bajcetic, 19. Elliott — 11. Salah, 9. Firmino, 28. Carvalho.
Liverpool subs: Adrian, Mrozek, Davies, Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tsimikas, Ramsay, Clark, Phillips, Doak, Cain, Quansah, Corness, Stewart, Chambers, Frauendorf.
Lyon were simply woeful in their first Dubai Super Cup match against Arsenal, trailing 3-0 by half-time and offering barely a chance in response as the game wore on. But they make just one change to their lineup, with Thiago Mendes coming for Romain Faivre to shore up the midfield.
Lyon lineup (4-1-2-1-2, right to left): 1. Lopes — 27. Gusto, 2. Diomande, 4. Lukeba, 12. Henrique — 23. Thiago Mendes — 6. Caqueret, 88. Tolisso — 8. Aouar — 9. Dembele, 10. Alexandre Lacazette.
Lyon subs: Riou, Bonnevie, Da Silva, Kumbedi, Laaziri, Sarr, Lepenant, Faivre, Reine-Adelaide, Barcola, Cherki, Tete.
What time is Liverpool vs. Lyon?
Liverpool and Lyon face off at the Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Sunday, December 11. The game kicks off at 2.00 p.m. GMT.
| UK | USA | Canada | Australia | |
| Date | Sun, December 11 | Sun, December 11 | Sun, December 11 | Mon, December 12 |
| Time | 14:00 GMT | 09:00 ET | 09:00 ET | 01:00 AEDT |
Liverpool vs. Lyon live stream, TV channel
This game is available to watch via LFC TV and LFC TV GO, Liverpool's club TV channel and on-the-go streaming service.
Supporters will need a subscription to access LFCTV on TV and online, which is £7 per month.
