Darwin Núñez scores hat-trick as Liverpool crush Stoke City

Darwin Núñez delivered a spectacular performance with a hat-trick within 14 minutes as Liverpool defeated Stoke City 5-0 in a closed-door friendly at the AXA Training Centre.

The Uruguayan striker put his team ahead 3-0 in the opening 20 minutes — followed by additional goals from Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa to complete The Reds’ dominant victory.

Manager Arne Slot fielded his strongest lineup in the first half including the club’s record signing Florian Wirtz, alongside Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool made 10 changes at halftime introducing Ibrahima Konaté, Cody Gakpo, and new signings Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong. Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was replaced by Ármin Pécsi near the 60-minute mark.

Meanwhile, Liverpool remains in discussions with Frankfurt regarding Hugo Ekitike’s transfer. Their other target, Alexander Isak, missed Newcastle United’s defeat to Celtic due to future speculation — though manager Eddie Howe remains confident the striker will stay.