Star signing Charlie Adam opened his account with a goal for Liverpool as the Reds beat Malaysia 6-3 Saturday, scoring five times in the second half after a sluggish start to the friendly.
Liverpool, who kicked off their Asian tour in China three days ago, made 11 changes to their line-up after the break, and it paid dividends as they gave the 80,000-strong crowd at Malaysias biggest football stadium, the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, their moneys worth.
Adam celebrated his full debut for Liverpool by giving them the lead from a hotly disputed penalty 24 minutes into the game, but then gave away the free kick from which Malaysian skipper Shafiq Rahim equalised with an exquisite shot from 30 yards (27 metres).
Adam, who signed for the Reds a week ago, dominated the midfield in the opening 45 minutes and created numerous chances for his teammates, all of which went begging.
French striker David Ngog continued his rich vein of form in Asia, grabbing two goals in as many minutes to give Liverpool a 3-1 lead after 69 minutes.
He first pounced on an error by Mohamad Fadhli Mohamad Shas to prod the ball home from close range in the 67th minute and added the second from the edge of the box two minutes later.
Argentine winger Maxi Rodriguez made it 4-1 on the 74th minute, but Malaysias top striker, Mohamad Safee Mohamad Sali, came off the bench to score twice to narrow the gap.
The forward first pounced on an error by substitute goalkeeper Martin Hansen in the 79th minute and made it 3-4 with a another close range effort two minutes later.
Rodriguez, however, nodded in from close range off a Dirk Kuyt cross in the 90th minute, and Kuyt burst through the Malaysian defence in injury time to make the final score 6-3.
This is Liverpools first trip to Malaysia. They began their Asian tour with a 4-3 victory over Chinas Guangdong Sunray Cave on Wednesday.
Source: AFP
