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Match report: U23s beaten by Villarreal

A much-changed Liverpool U23s side were defeated 7-0 by Villarreal in their Premier League International Cup opener.

Neil Critchley was unable to select a number of regulars for Wednesday’s game at the Academy, with the likes of captain Matty Virtue, Bobby Adekanye and Nat Phillips ruled out due to injury and Rafael Camacho absent after representing Portugal U19s 24 hours earlier.

With Adam Lewis and Neco Williams also only deemed ready for the bench after their own international exertions, Critchley made eight alterations to his starting line-up and handed full U23 debuts to Ki-Jana Hoever, Rhys Williams and Luis Longstaff.