Goals from Robert Brady, Robert Koren and Jay Simpson gave the Tigers a friendly victory they will remember on a day when Kenny Dalglish fielded 22 players in a bid to get his hefty squad fit for the 2011-12 campaign.
Both sides wore black armbands in respect for those killed in yesterday's terrorist attack in Norway, where the Reds have a massive fan-base.
Dalglish will not be overly worried by the result, with fitness the main concern at this stage, and he will now turn his attentions to Thursday's match with Galatasaray.
Joe Cole made clear his intention to impress from the off with a delightful pass down the wing to Martin Kelly, who skewed his cross behind for a goal kick.
But it was the side that finished 11th in the Championship last season who threatened first, Aaron McLean pinging over after a misplaced pass from Jack Robinson.
Our 17-year-old full-back, who became Liverpool's youngest ever player on this ground at the end of 2009-10, soon made amends with a superbly timed tackle on Liam Rosenior.
Former Manchester United youngster Brady forced a first save in Liverpool colours from debutant Doni, who smothered comfortably at his near post.
The Brazilian had no chance on 21 minutes, however, following a neat move from Hull which started with left-back Joe Dudgeon and ended with a top-corner finish from the edge of the box by Brady.
Liverpool almost hit straight back with a magical pass from Alberto Aquilani which put David Ngog into a few yards of space, but the Frenchman was denied by a brilliant save from our own out-on-loan stopper Peter Gulacsi. Cole attempted to convert the parry but his effort spun well over.
Conor Coady was next to open up the Hull defence with another smart ball to Ngog, whose touch let him down this time.
At the other end, Hull captain Koren floated a free-kick towards the penalty spot where an unmarked McLean waited to execute a powerful header that flew just over the bar.
The two Hull men combined again for the home side's second goal, working an intricate one-two outside the penalty area before Koren thumped beyond Doni with a strike he'll dream about tonight.
The final chance of the first half for Liverpool followed a lofted ball from Aquilani which was met with a decent first touch from Ngog before possession was stolen by Paul McShane.
And so Liverpool went in 2-0 down at the break, though Dalglish will have been heartened by the adventure his midfielders showed with the ball and in particular the performance of young Coady.
The Liverpool boss made 11 changes at half-time, with new boys Henderson and Downing among those introduced for their debuts.
John Flanagan offered his greetings with a crunching tackle which would have earned more than a ticking off from the referee had this been a competitive encounter.
Downing was just a few inches away from opening his Reds account within two minutes of the restart, prompting a fingertip save from Adriano Basso with a right-foot hit following a pass from Dirk Kuyt.
This was a very different Liverpool to that seen in the first half, with Kuyt, Charlie Adam, Henderson and Andy Carroll all looking to impose themselves on the game.
Downing was next to test Basso with another low drive but the angle was too acute for the substitute goalkeeper to be seriously bothered.
Hull's third goal was unexpected, then, and Liverpool will be disappointed with the way they defended Kevin Kilbane's cross on 58 minutes, allowing the ball to be chested down to Simpson, who couldn't fail to beat Brad Jones from close range.
Liverpool almost pulled one back on 68 minutes when Adam squared across goal but Carroll couldn't make meaningful contact and the ball disappeared wide of goal.
A hat-trick of corners failed to produce anything for the visitors, while a terrific cross from Flanagan looked to be heading for the forehead of Carroll until Paul McKenna earned the appreciation of 20,924 fans with a superb intervention.
Kuyt and Flanagan both had chances to get their names on the scoresheet in the final seconds but it wasn't to be.
Source: Liverpool FC Official
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