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Anfield has been cleared out ahead of Liverpool's friendly clash with Athletic Bilbao. The game is scheduled for a 5pm start BST (12pm ET), followed by another encounter against the same team at 8pm BST (3pm ET).
Supporters were settling into their seats when an alarm went off, prompting an evacuation of the stadium. The cause of the evacuation remains unknown at this stage.
The Reds are gearing up for the upcoming Premier League season, fielding a blend of senior and youth players in back-to-back matches against their Spanish adversaries. Darwin Nunez, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Kostas Tsimikas, and Andy Robertson are some of the first-team regulars lined up for the opening game.
This pair of friendlies marks Liverpool's emotional return to Anfield following the heartbreaking loss of Diogo Jota. The 28 year old Portuguese forward and his brother Andre Silva tragically died in a car accident last month.
In his programme notes, captain Virgil van Dijk reflected: "It has, of course, been a very challenging time.
"First and foremost for Diogo and Andre's family, for Rute and the kids. They are the people who must always come first in all of this. We must never forget that, and we cannot imagine their pain in this moment.
"It is still a bit surreal, to be honest, but we are coping in the best way possible as a team, and we are all trying to do the best job we can in order to get through this really difficult time.
"With everything that happened, it has been strange having to now try to carry on with work, with football. We will never forget Diogo, of course, but we just have to try to honour his memory. That's what we try to do each and every day.
"I always come back to the fact that we have to look after Diogo's family, his parents, and that's the main thing. You think about so many different things, and it's difficult to process. You can't imagine the pain, the feeling that they have. That's why we try to be there as much as we can, and for each other as well.
"That's also why it is very important that we honour and carry on his legacy, not only for now and the next couple of months, but for as long as we can, because that is what he deserves."
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