Liverpool 4-2 Sunderland

Andoni Iraola won his first match in charge of Liverpool as his new side produced an impressive display to beat Sunderland 4-2 in the opening game of their summer tour of the United States.

Iraola, who replaced Arne Slott at Anfield in June, will have relished some of Liverpool’s football in the heat of Nashville, particularly a superb team move that led to the opening goal for young midfielder Kieran Morrison 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 turn around a 2-1 deficit thanks to a characteristic Dominik Szoboszlai piledriver, followed by further strikes from colleagues Federico Chiesa and Luis Coumas.

However, there was a negative for Iraola, who forced stand-in captain and long-serving defender Joe Gomez to start with a muscle problem in an area of ​​the team where Liverpool could really go without injury in the new campaign.

Nashville SC Stadium Highlights

8: Hurt! Captain Gomez getting injured is already a big concern for Liverpool and it doesn’t look good for the centre-back.

13: Goal! Morrison scored the first goal of the Iraola era after some impressive build-up involving McConnell, Ngumoha and Elliott, who gave the midfielder space on the right of the box and then found the bottom corner with a low shot.

28: Goal! Sunderland leveled when McConnell lost possession deep in the Black Cats’ half and allowed Le Fee to break upfield and the Reds defense fell back, the playmaker firing an unstoppable effort past a helpless Mamardashvili from 25 yards.

49: Goal! Sunderland turned it around and now led after Frimpong lost possession in a bad area, the ball then slipped for Tuterov, who finished the half-time sub confidently.

56: Goal! After a great break down the left with Koumas and Kerkez clearing the Sunderland half of the danger, the Hungary midfielder hit an unstoppable volley from the left edge of the box.

72: Goal! And now Liverpool are back in front as Ramsey feeds Chiesa in the box and faces Moore to beat from a tight angle, Saab finding the back of the net from a tight angle.

85: Goal! Liverpool certainly scored another great goal to wrap up the game as Sunderland gave the ball away early on and Soboszlai found Koumas in the box and Saab did well to find the net with a confident finish.

‘A lot to improve, but a good starting point’

Liverpool boss Andoni Irrawola:

“I think it was a different half. In particular, they were much stronger in the first half. We balanced both teams, and you could feel the difference. A lot of things have to be corrected, obviously, it’s the first day.

“You can feel the heavy legs, the players are training. So, we lacked some freshness. But it will give us a good start to improve.

“Probably the worst news is the direct injury to Joe (Gomez). We were happy because we went through all the training without losing a player. Unfortunately for us, directly we lost Joe.”

Lots of positives for Iraola

Sky Sports’ Rich Morgan:

There have been many positives for Iraola from his first match in charge of Liverpool, obviously starting with the win, although in many ways it was the performance of his players and how well they played which will please the new Red boss the most.

Liverpool scored some eye-catching goals, the team got better as the game went on despite the heat in Nashville, and the 22 players used for this first competitive run-out of the preseason got better.

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 into the start.

The long-serving defender was suffering from a muscle problem and was replaced in the center of defense by youngster Ifeanyi Ndukwe just 10 minutes into the club’s first pre-season game on their summer tour to the United States.

Gomez, 29, has a long injury history at Anfield, although Iraola will hope it is nothing too serious with Ibrahima leaving for Kona on a free transfer at the end of last season, while Giovanni Leone and Jeremy Jaquet both missed the game in Nashville through injury.

Leoni, signed last year from Parma, will not return to full fitness for at least several months after suffering an ACL on his Reds debut last September, while Jaquet, who joined the club from Rennes this summer, only missed the game with a minor injury recovering from a shoulder problem.

Liverpool’s pre-season fixtures

30 July: Liverpool v Wrexham – New York, 12.30pm
August 2: Liverpool v Leeds – Chicago, 9pm
August 9: Liverpool v Monaco – Anfield, 2.30pm
August 16: Liverpool v Como – Anfield, 6pm

Sunderland’s pre-season fixtures

July 31: Sunderland v Leeds – New Jersey, 12.30am
August 2: Sunderland v Wrexham – Philadelphia, 6pm
August 8: Lens v Sunderland – Lens Training Ground (behind closed doors), 11am
August 8: Lens v Sunderland – Stade Boulart-Delilys, 4pm
August 15: Sunderland v Rennes – Stadium of Light, 3pm