Sturridge: I’m fatigued, not injured
DANIEL STURRIDGE moved to ease injury fears as Liverpool impressively stepped up preparations for the new season. Jurgen Klopp’s players swatted Bayern Munich aside by scoring three unanswered goals to secure a place in the Audi Cup final against Atletico Madrid, the last a wonderfully executed chip from Sturridge after he had latched on to a ball from Ben Woodburn. As soon as he had scored, though, Sturridge — who had been on the field for 17 minutes — grabbed his right thigh and signalled to Liverpool’s bench and was replaced shortly after by Dominic Solanke. The striker told LFC TV: ‘There’s a little bit of tension. We’ve had a lot of training. I think it’s just fatigue to be honest. I’ll be OK. I’m feeling great. I put in the work this summer. I’m not missing many sessions. I’m feeling the best I’ve felt for a while.’ The England international will undergo further examinations in the next 24 hours. Klopp said: ‘He hurt his thigh. He has prepared really well and I just hope that this is just a small injury and he can play really soon. The goal was really great and he had a chance before that. You could see how fast he is. It’s a shame. I hope that it’s nothing serious.’ Liverpool got off to a blistering start with Sadio Mane scoring in the sixth minute after a rapid counter-attack. Mohamed Salah scored the second in the 34th minute, heading in from close range after Alberto Moreno’s shot was palmed away by Bayern keeper Sven Ulreich. The chance was created after Mane bamboozled Javi Martinez with a drag-back and back-heel. Klopp added: ‘We had to run around too much but we played good football. The third goal was great.’ Earlier, Atletico Madrid came from a goal down to beat Napoli 2-1.