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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
George Flood

Nightmare return for Alisson as Liverpool goalkeeper drops ball, concedes penalty after three minutes vs Lyon

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker endured a nightmare start to his return to club duty in Geneva on Wednesday evening.

After a well-earned break that followed his Copa America triumph with Brazil earlier in the summer, the 26-year-old - along with Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and the fit-again Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri - was one of five key players to return to Jurgen Klopp's starting XI for a friendly against Lyon.

The Reds have struggled in the absence of some of their most important performers during a disappointing pre-season campaign, and such a run continued in the early stages on Wednesday.

Alisson's first touch back in a Liverpool shirt saw him spill a third-minute cross under no pressure before bad went to worse as he brought down Moussa Dembele in a misguided attempt to recover the situation.

Former Manchester United forward Memphis Depay stepped up confidently to punish such a blunder from the spot and leave out-of-sorts European champions Liverpool - who face Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday - with work to do to avoid another defeat.

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