Al Ettifaq 0-1 Lokomotiva Zagreb: Steven Gerrard's side continue their poor pre-season start

Steven Gerrard's slow start as the new manager of Al-Ettifaq has continued after he suffered his second defeat since taking up the managerial position at the Saudi Arabian side.

The former Liverpool midfielder took up the position on July 3, and during that time, the club are yet to win under his stewardship, having now played out two draws and two losses.

The 43-year-old stepped back into management this summer, after he was sacked as Aston Villa's manager on October 21, 2022, following a poor run of form that saw him win just three of the 12 games he oversaw at the beginning of the 2022-23 season.

On Monday evening, his new side, Al-Ettifaq, were beaten 1-0 by Lokomotiva Zagreb in a pre-season friendly in Croatia.

The Pro League side, who finished seventh in the Saudi top division last season, conceded the opening goal after just eight minutes with 21-year-old Blaz Boskovic firing Lokomotiva into the lead.

The match took place in the Croatian village of Sveti Martin and while Gerrard's side succumbed to the loss they had the lion's share of attacks, possession and shots against their opposition, managing eight attempts on target to Lokomotiva's two.

But they failed to make good those chances, succumbing to the 1-0 loss against the Croatian first division side.

In their last outing, the Commandos managed to rescue a 1-1 draw against Hungarian side Zalaegerszeg, with former Mainz midfielder Robin Quison scoring from the spot to cancel out Meshack Ubochioma's stirke.

Before that, they suffered a 2-1 loss to another Croatian side, Varazdin, with forward Ante Vukusic scoring a winner in the 90th minute to give Gerrard his first loss as Al-Ettifaq manager.

But this week has been a busy one for the Saudi side, who are on the verge