Jürgen Klopp says that nothing should be taken away from Liverpool’s first pre-season friendly of the summer after they thrashed local rivals Tranmere Rovers 4-0 at Prenton Park on Wednesday night.

The Reds ran out emphatic winners, netting two penalties through James Milner and Ben Woodburn while Marko Grujić and Pedro Chirivella were also on the score-sheet.

Yet while Liverpool fielded 22 players, the entire travelling squad bar Connor Randall featuring against non-league Tranmere, Klopp is insistent that the tactics and personnel did not matter due to how early it is in their preparations.

Asked about whether there was anything to learn from their set-up, Klopp declared: “No. Did you ever see a manager in the first game of pre-season involve a line-up [that was the same] for the first game of the Premier League? That would be a surprise.

“No, I have no idea how we will play against Watford actually. We have a lot of time, a lot of training sessions, until then. No, nothing I can say.”

Two games against Tranmere cannot be compared, says Klopp

Liverpool also opened their previous pre-season with a trip to Tranmere, winning 1-0 thanks to a Danny Ings strike, but Klopp refused to draw any comparisons between the two squads and performances – though he admitted he was pleased with what he saw from his players.

“I have no idea which squad I had here last year!” he said. “It was the first game, a lot of players were not involved – probably all of the international players because there was a tournament before.

“I remember when they all came in the USA so you cannot compare the squads, I don’t think it makes a lot of sense.

“I think I was happy with the squad I had today. First-half, a little bit more experience, second-half with the young players. It looked good.

“It looked as good as possible after eight days around about training. I have really enjoyed watching it.

“First-half it started really well and then it looked a bit more stiff, a few players looking for their role, their position and all that stuff. Second-half, surprisingly it looked fresher. That’s good.

“It looked flexible and more fluent. Both our halves were good. We scored the goals, we could have scored more. All good.”

The Reds next travel to League One outfit Wigan Athletic on Friday night, as they did last year, before embarking on a trip to Hong Kong on Saturday ahead of clashes with Crystal Palace and one of Leicester City or West Bromwich Albion.