Andoni Iraola won his first game in charge of Liverpool as his new side produced an impressive performance to beat Sunderland 4-2 in their opening game of their summer tour of the US.
Iraola, who replaced Arne Slott at Anfield in June, will have been delighted with some of the football produced by Liverpool in the heat of Nashville, especially a good team move that led to young midfielder Kieran Morrison’s opener after 13 minutes.
The Basque, like his opposite number Regis Le Bris, made changes after the first half, with Liverpool improving after the break to make it 2-1 thanks to Dominik Szoboszlai’s piledriver, followed by further strikes from fellow substitutes Federico Chiesa and Lewis Koumas.
However, there was something wrong with Iraola, who saw captain and long-serving defender Joe Gomez forced off early with what appeared to be a hamstring problem in a place where Liverpool could do injury-free heading into the new campaign.
Highlights from Nashville SC Stadium
8: INJURY! The biggest concern is already for Liverpool as the captain Gomez is injured and this does not look good for the defender.
13: GOAL! The first goal of Iraola’s tenure was scored by Morrison after a great team performance that included some impressive formation from the likes of McConnell, Ngumoha and Elliott, who fed the midfielder into space on the right side of the box and found the bottom corner with a low shot.
28: GOAL! Sunderland leveled as McConnell lost space deep in the Black Cats’ half allowing Le Fee to break through and as the Reds defense fell back, the playmaker fired an unstoppable effort past a helpless Mardashvili from 25 yards.
49: GOAL! Sunderland responded to take the lead after Frimpong lost the ball in a bad area, the ball fell to Tuterov, and the half-time game finished with confidence.
56: GOAL! Now it’s raining goals as Szoboszlai hits an absolute worldie to bring Liverpool level after a good break down the left involving Koumas and Kerkez and after Sunderland have ended the half danger, the Hungarian midfielder hits an unstoppable volley from the edge of the box.
72: GOAL! And now Liverpool are back in front as Ramsey feeds Chiesa into space in the box and from a tight angle and faces the onrushing Moore to strike, the sub finds the back of the net from a tight corner.
85: GOAL! Liverpool scored another great goal to wrap up the game as Sunderland gave the ball away and Szoboszlai found Koumas in the box and the sub did well to find the net with confidence.
‘There’s a lot to fix, but it’s a good start’
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola:
“I think it was different halves. Mainly, they were very strong in the first half. We balance both teams, and you can feel the difference. A lot of things to adjust, obviously, it’s the first day.
“You can feel the heavy legs, the players were training. So, we didn’t have the youth. But it will give us a good start to improve things.
“Probably the worst news was Joe’s injury [Gomez]. We were happy because we were doing all the training without losing a player. Unfortunately for us, we lost Joe right away.”
Iraola has a lot to offer
Sky Sports Rich Morgan:
There are many positives for Iraola to take from his first game in charge of Liverpool, starting obviously with a win, although this is a pre-season opportunity in many ways it was the performance of his players and how well they played at times that would have pleased the new Reds boss.
Liverpool scored some eye-catching goals, the team got better as the game went on, despite the heat in Nashville, and all 22 players used improved in this first competitive preseason game.
Iraola is sweating on Gomez’s latest injury
Sky Sports Rich Morgan:
Iraola may have won his first game in charge of Liverpool, but there was some worrying injury news as Joe Gomez was forced off early on.
The long-serving defender appeared to have a hamstring problem and was replaced by youngster Ifeanyi Ndukwe within 10 minutes of the club’s first pre-season game on their summer tour of the US.
Gomez, 29, has a long injury history at Anfield, although Iraola will hope it is nothing serious as Iraima Konate left on a free transfer at the end of last season, while both Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet missed the game in Nashville again through injury.
Leoni, signed last year from Parma, will not return to full fitness for at least several months after tearing his ACL on his Reds debut in September last year, while Jacquet, who joined the club from Rennes this summer, missed the game with a minor knock as he recovers from a shoulder issue.
Liverpool’s pre-season games
July 30: Liverpool vs Wrexham – New York, 12.30am
August 2: Liverpool vs Leeds – Chicago, 9pm
August 9: Liverpool vs Monaco – Anfield, 2.30pm
August 16: Liverpool vs Como – Anfield, 6pm
Sunderland’s pre-season games
July 31: Sunderland vs Leeds – New Jersey, 12.30am
August 2: Sunderland vs Wrexham – Philadelphia, 6pm
August 8: Lens vs Sunderland – Lens training ground (behind closed doors), 11am
August 8: Lens vs Sunderland – Stade Bollaert-Delelis, 4pm
August 15: Sunderland vs Rennes – Stadium of Light, 3pm
