Amido Balde's goal hands Celtic 1-0 win over Liverpool in pre-season friendly

Daniel Sturridge of Liverpool competes with Steven Mouyokolo of Celtic in a pre-season friendly at Aviva Stadium on August 10, 2013 in Dublin, Ireland

Celtin’s Amido Balde scored the only goal of the match in the 13th minute at Dublin as Brendan Rodgers’s side tasted its first defeat in six friendly games. Balde saw off the challenge from Andre Wisdom and fired a shot that Simon Mignolet’s dive could not prevent from being lobbed into the net.

Liverpool struggled to break down the resolute Celtic defence in the absence of Luis Suarez. Returning from injury, substitute Daniel Sturridge showed promising signs but that was not enough to propel Liverpool to a victory.

Liverpool tested Celtic goalkeeper Lukas Zaluszka many times before the break with Stewart Downing and Philippe Coutinho both going close to level the scores, while Sturridge’s movement caused problems after half-time. Sturridge had been out of action since May with a damaged ankle but managed 45 minutes on the field.

This was Liverpool’s final game before next week’s EPL opener against Stoke City.

Here are the highlights of the match: