Jurgen Klopp has wished Rovers well as he reflected on ‘a really good afternoon’ for his Liverpool side at Anfield.

The Reds scored three times in either half to run out 6-0 winners as the two sides stepped up their respective preparations ahead of next weekend’s season restart.

Liverpool, a week ahead of Rovers in their training, had played a training match last week, but welcomed Tony Mowbray’s side to Anfield for their first behind-closed-doors game.

Goals from Sadio Mane, Takumi Minamino and Naby Keita had the Reds 3-0 up at the break, with Joel Matip, Ki-Jana Hoever and Leighton Clarkson adding three more in the second half.

And Klopp said: “It was not only a workout for us, it was a really important test and we wanted the players to go for 45 minutes because of a few little issues we couldn’t do that, so we didn’t have enough ‘first-team players’, I would say, so that’s why we decided to let three players go for 60 minutes. That’s okay.

“It looked really good, obviously. It looked really good, pretty much from the beginning.

“Yes, you have to get used again to playing against a deep-defending side and stuff like this.

“Blackburn had a playing build-up from time to time, so we could work on the high press as well. So (the) counter-press was brilliant, the football was really good, the goals were nice and it was a really good afternoon. I am really thankful that Blackburn came here and we could do that, so I wish them all the best.”

Liverpool had an inter-squad match last week as they get used to the behind-closed-doors matches they will face in their remaining nine Premier League games.

It is something Klopp says they will have to adapt to, but he was pleased with the run-out as his side become acclimatised to their surroundings once again.

“Yes, it’s different, of course. You need to get used to it, but I like it. After three times, it is completely okay,” he told his club’s website.

“I thought before – and I don’t have experience in this area – that it would be really awkward, but we have to create our own atmosphere in the games. We have to be lively as well, we have to be animated and stuff like this.

“Being positive about the things that have happened and so on, that’s how you can create an atmosphere – and it’s what we have to do as well. Apart from that, it is Anfield. We don’t have to discuss it all the time, that it is completely different stuff without supporters.

“Football would not be the game (it is( if there were not supporters; we only love it because of the atmosphere and all that stuff – but this is now our situation, so we have to take that, we have to use that and that’s what we try.”