Liverpool defender Nat Phillips says he enjoyed his loan last season with Stuttgart.

The Reds defeated VfB in yesterday's first preseason friendly.

Phillips told the club's website: "I actually found out we're playing against them off their players because they had been told just before we set off for this tour.

"I knew going out there, [promotion] was a priority and it was more of an expectation than a goal, so there was a lot of pressure on us to make sure we achieved that.

"Obviously I played a lot of first-team football, which I hadn't done much of before. The experience of playing in front of big crowds every week – at Stuttgart, they get a big crowd at their stadium – so that was a good experience playing under that pressure.

"Also the different style of football over in Germany was a new experience. There were lots of different things that just help you as an individual and as a player.

"It was difficult at first, like it is if you move to a new place in any case. It takes time to settle in and with it being a different country, I had a few more challenges with the language and having no idea about the city beforehand. But I loved it.

"I did pick up a fair amount of the language because everything at the club was in German, all the meetings were in German. That was another skill I wanted to pick up before I went and fortunately I've done that."