Andoni Iraola kicked off his Liverpool reign with a 4-2 win against Sunderland in Nashville on Saturday – so what did we learn from the new head coach's first outing in charge of the Reds? <ul><li><strong><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/liverpool-vs-sunderland/live/554985">As it happened</a> | <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/liverpool-vs-sunderland/teams/554985">Teams</a> | <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/liverpool-vs-sunderland/stats/554985">Stats</a></strong></li><li><a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/TransfersSkySportsApp" target="_blank"><strong>Transfer Centre LIVE!</strong></a><strong> | <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/live-blog/11669/13025501/liverpool-transfer-news-rumours-and-gossip-live-updates-and-latest-on-deals-signings-loans-and-contracts">Liverpool latest</a> | <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/live-blog/11695/13375102/sunderland-transfer-news-rumours-and-gossip-live-updates-and-latest-on-deals-signings-loans-and-contracts">Sunderland latest</a> </strong><strong>🔴</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/13546612/premier-league-pre-season-friendlies-2026-27-fixtures-results-uk-kick-off-times-summer-tour-schedule-and-training-camps">Premier League pre-season: Fixtures and results</a></strong></li><li><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12040/13561249/premier-league-2026-27-fixtures-live-on-sky-sports-arsenal-vs-chelsea-and-man-utd-vs-man-city-live-on-sky-in-september" target="_blank"><strong>Sky to show at least 215 live 2026/27 Premier League games</strong></a></li></ul><h3><strong>Defensive reinforcements are needed with Gomez unlikely to stay fit</strong></h3><p>It already seemed a risk going into the new season having Jeremy Jacquet, Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni as contenders to be captain Virgil van Dijk's centre-back partner given the fitness doubts over the trio.</p><p>For a start, Leoni is still "months" away from recovering from the season-ending ACL he suffered on his Reds debut last September having only joined the club from Parma last summer.</p><widget id="3"></widget><p>Jacquet, meanwhile, has himself also just returned from a shoulder injury sustained just days after agreeing to move to Anfield in February and missed the win against Sunderland with a minor knock.</p><p>All of which meant the injury-prone Gomez started and captained the team in Tennessee, with the long-serving defender lasting all of 10 minutes before being forced off in what Iraola called "the worst news" of the day.</p><p>And while it looked to be no more than a muscle problem for the 29-year-old, it was also a reminder that Liverpool cannot rely on Gomez to stay fit for an extended period of time and so need to go into the market to sign another defender before the summer window shuts on September 1.</p><h3><strong>Reds fans should enjoy Iraola-ball more than Slot-ball</strong></h3><p>It was the chorus of boos that rang out around Anfield at the end of his side's tepid draw with Chelsea in May that signalled Arne Slot's time was up as Liverpool head coach.</p> <widget id="5"></widget><p>It came just 12 months after the Dutchman had held the Premier League trophy aloft in front of an ecstatic Kop. But the slow, possession-heavy style of football, with the ball endlessly shuffled from one flank to the other, combined with a downturn in results, had turned the home fans against him.</p><p>His successor favours a different type of football, however, explaining his vision in his first press conference as Liverpool head coach as this: "I want my team to be energetic. I want to be dynamic, to play in the opposition half as much as we can, sometimes on the ball, sometimes without the ball, and try to suffocate the opposition."</p> <widget id="6"></widget><p>And while it is impossible to make any firm conclusions after one 90-minute runout using 22 players, there were certainly glimpses of this in Nashville, especially for the Reds' first and last goals.</p><p>In fact, Kieran Morrison's 13th-minute opener came after a free-flowing move involving some impressive build-up play from the likes of James McConnell, Rio Ngumoha and Harvey Elliott, while Lewis Koumas's late strike came about after some excellent counter-pressing.</p><h3><strong>Szoboszlai still Liverpool's most dynamic and important midfielder</strong></h3><p>There is a reason Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes and the club were so keen to tie <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11669/13564294/dominik-szoboszlai-midfielder-signs-new-five-year-deal-at-liverpool">Dominik Szoboszlai down to a new five-year contract</a>, and the Hungary midfielder's all-action second-half display at the Nashville SC Stadium just emphasised once again what a vital cog he is in the Reds machine.</p> <widget id="2"></widget><p>It is not just the 25-year-old's ability to score from range, which he did again with an unstoppable volley to bring his side level, but also the example he sets in the middle of the park with his incredible pressing game that his new boss favours.</p><p>As mentioned, Iraola has "always loved gegenpressing and the German coaches," as he told <em>The Times</em>, so expect the versatile Szoboszlai – who also created a goal for Koumas on Saturday – to be a key component of his three-man midfield.</p><h3><strong>Iraola won't be afraid to give young guns a chance</strong></h3><p>One criticism of Slot was he appeared not to trust Liverpool's young players during his time on Merseyside, especially exciting England forward Rio Ngumoha, a charge that is unlikely to be levelled against his replacement.</p> <widget id="4"></widget><p>Iraola, maybe through necessity at times, was never afraid to give youngsters a go at Bournemouth, so do not be surprised if we see the likes of Trey Nyoni, Koumas, Morrison and James McConnell in first-team action next season.</p><p>That quartet all impressed against Sunderland, especially England U20 international Nyoni and his Wales counterpart Koumas, who both caught the eye in the second half, the former with a calm and composed display in midfield and the latter with an energetic performance in attack.</p><h3><strong>'First outing a good starting point – but still lots to improve'</strong></h3><p>For a first pre-season runout, Iraola could not really – Gomez's untimely injury apart – have asked for much more.</p><p>The Basque got off to a winning start as Reds boss, which always helps breed confidence and trust in the new man, although ultimately the result was immaterial and more important were miles in the players' legs and the squad beginning to understand the 44-year-old's ideas.</p> <widget id="7"></widget><p>"It's the first day," said Iraola after the game. "You could feel the heavy legs, the players have been training. So, we lacked some freshness. But it will give us a good starting point to improve things."</p><p>And, of course, the Reds were without their World Cup contingent, who apart from finalists Alexis Mac Allister and Victor Munoz, will now join up with the rest of the Reds' travelling party on Sunday.</p> <widget id="8"></widget><p>"They are already there in Chicago," he added. "They are waiting for us. Alex [Isak], Flo [Wirtz] and Ryan [Gravenberch]. They will start training from tomorrow [Sunday] with us and we still have two more games [in the USA].</p><p>"I hope we use them properly and we go [forward] improving slowly, slowly the things that today didn't work."</p><h3><a href="https://www.skysports.com/liverpool-scores-fixtures/2026-08-01">Liverpool's 2026/27 Premier League fixtures</a></h3><p><em>All fixtures subject to change.</em></p><p><strong>August</strong></p><p>23: Newcastle (a) – 4.30pm, live on <em>Sky Sports</em></p><p>29: Nottingham Forest (h) – 12.30pm</p><p><strong>September</strong></p><p>5: Ipswich (a) – 8pm, live on <em>Sky Sports</em></p><p>12: Fulham (h) – 3pm</p><p>19: Bournemouth (a) – 2pm, live on <em>Sky Sports</em></p><p><strong>October</strong></p><p>10: Man City (h) – 3pm</p> <widget id="1"></widget>
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