Anfield evacuated ahead of Liverpool vs Athletic Bilbao friendly double-header

Anfield has been evacuated ahead of Liverpool's friendly against Athletic Bilbao. The match is due to kick off at 5pm, with a further fixture against the same opposition at 8pm.

Fans had already begun to take their seats in the stadium when an alarm sounded and supporters were asked to evacuate. The reason for the evacuation is so far unclear.

After a short period, supporters were allowed to re-enter the stadium but with huge queues at the turnstiles.

The Reds are preparing for the new Premier League season with a mixture of first-team and youth fixtures set to appear against their Spanish opponents in two separate matches.

Darwin Nunez, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Kostas Tsimikas and Andy Robertson are among the first-team regulars to be named for the first fixture.

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The friendly double-header marks the first return to Anfield for Liverpool since the tragic passing of Diogo Jota. The Portuguese star, 28, was killed in a car crash alongside brother Andre Silva last month.

In his programme notes, skipper Virgil van Dijk said: "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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