Emre Can and Philippe Coutinho returned to Liverpool action on Sunday afternoon, making appearances for the Under-21 side, who were beaten 2-0 by FC Porto.
The young pair were late returning to Liverpool's pre-season, after busy summer's where each featured internationally, for Germany and Brazil respectively.
International duty
Coutinho featured for the Selecao as they reached the quarter finals of the Copa America, where they were defeated on penalties by Peru in a similar fashion to their 2011 exit from the competition.
Can played a starring role for Germany as they marched through the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group Stages, but couldn't prevent them losing 5-0 to Portugal in the semi finals, admitting that his side thought they were better than they were and had too much confidence.
These international exploits saw them, along with new Liverpool signing Roberto Firmino, allowed an extended holiday to get the same break that their teammates got. Firmino played alongside Coutinho at the Copa and scored in the tournament, but wasn't involved against Porto.
No triumph for Liverpool
Unfortunately for Michael Beale's young side, they went down 2-0 to a strong an athletic Porto side, as Coutinho and Can both featured for the first 45 minutes in the Steel Park Cup.
The young Reds couldn't prove victorious in the tournament, with PSV Eindhoven the eventual champions. After a 3-3 draw with the Merseyside side on Saturday, PSV beat Corby Town 3-0 on Sunday to take the trophy.
A thankful manager
Manager Beale, who VAVEL spoke exclusively to last week, praised the senior pair for their efforts, saying: "It was fantastic to have Philippe and Emre with us and they did really well in the planned 45 minute outing.
"Their attitude was absolutely fantastic and they were brilliant in the dressing room as well with our young lads."
The under-21's begin their season with a home match against Chelsea in less than two weeks time, with the senior side getting their's up and running with a match away at Stoke City just a day later.