Anfield evacuated ahead of Liverpool v Athletic Club

Fans had to leave the stadium

The Reds had been due to play a pre-season fixture against La Liga side Athletic Club. 

The game was scheduled to begin at 5pm. 

The reason for the evacuation is so far unclear. 

The game is now back underway and Liverpool lead 2-0.

A number of high profile first-team stars, including Darwin Nunez, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Kostas Tsimikas and Andy Robertson had been named in the lineup for the game. 

This fixture was set to be the first to take place at Anfield since the tragic passing of Diogo Jota last month. 

The 28-year-old passed away alongside his brother in a car crash. 

The subject of Jota’s tragic death was touched on in today’s match programme by club skipper Virgil Van Dijk. 

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."