The Basque coach was tasked with bringing front-foot, attacking football back to Anfield. The former Bournemouth boss has only had two weeks to work with a depleted squad shorn of their biggest names following the World Cup. The early signs are encouraging.<\/p>\n
Liverpool played with a higher tempo and were more direct, moving the ball forward quickly, rather than passing it sideways.<\/p>\n
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\n Andoni Iraola\u2019s Liverpool were more direct (Andrew J Clark\/ISI Photos via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Setting them up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Iraola used Harvey Elliott as the most advanced central midfielder in the first half and then Szoboszlai after the break.<\/p>\n
Iraola cut an animated figure on the touchline as he barked orders and gesticulated wildly. He applauded the sight of a youthful line-up hunting in packs as they pressed high and unsettled Sunderland\u2019s back line.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had some good spells on the ball,\u201d he told LFCTV. \u201cBut I think we lacked a little bit of intensity. You can feel the timing is still not there. We have to work a lot more but it\u2019s a starting point. We still have a lot of things to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iraola used 22 players in the first friendly of his tenure and, of those, only Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Szoboszlai and Rio Ngumoha are likely to be in contention to start next month\u2019s Premier League opener against Newcastle United.<\/p>\n
Given the personnel on duty, this was a decent watch. But the lack of star quality on display probably explains why there were 5,000 empty seats in the 30,000-capacity Geodis Park, especially given that tickets cost between $129 and $392 (\u00a396-\u00a3292).<\/p>\n
Gomez injury exposes need for defensive reinforcements<\/p>\n
With captain Virgil van Dijk on holiday following the World Cup, Giovanni Leoni still recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and new signing Jeremy Jacquet left out of the squad for the opening tour game as a precaution over a shoulder injury, Iraola\u2019s centre-back options were limited.<\/p>\n
The situation got worse inside eight minutes against Sunderland when Gomez went down off the ball with a muscle problem and couldn\u2019t continue. Iraola described it post-match as \u201cthe worst news\u201d.<\/p>\n
Gomez has endured a lengthy list of cruel setbacks during his 11-year Liverpool career and faces a wait to learn the extent of his latest injury.<\/p>\n
Ifeanyi Ndukwe came on to replace him as he formed a rookie defensive partnership with fellow 18-year-old Mor Talla Ndiaye. Both youngsters were snapped up in January after impressing at the Under-17 World Cup in Qatar<\/a>. Ndukwe cost \u00a32.5million ($3.3m) from Austria Vienna, while Ndiaye arrived from Senegalese side Amitie for \u00a31million.<\/p>\n In the circumstances, they performed admirably \u2014 Ndukwe, particularly, was a real commanding presence. Unfortunately, Liverpool won\u2019t be able to call upon the Austria youth international this season as he doesn\u2019t meet the required points total to get a work permit in the UK<\/a>. He will be sent out on loan but his potential is clear.<\/p>\n No matter how long Gomez is ruled out for, Liverpool need defensive reinforcements<\/a>. They are thin both at centre-back and right-back, and this game exposed that shortage further.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were happy because we were kind of going through all the training without losing any player. Unluckily for us, straight away we\u2019ve lost Joe,\u201d Iraola said.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Jeremy, we decided to take it easy with him. He has been out for months with a shoulder injury. He will probably play the last game of this U.S. tour.\u201d<\/p>\n Spectacular Szoboszlai does it again<\/p>\n Szoboszlai was the centre of attention in Nashville.<\/p>\n Every time he went to take a corner, the noise levels cranked up as Liverpool\u2019s supporters paid homage to the Hungary international, who recently committed his future to the club by signing a five-year contract<\/a>.<\/p>\n Szoboszlai didn\u2019t disappoint them as he produced a dazzling second-half performance, taking the armband following his introduction at the break.<\/p>\n Liverpool were trailing 2-1 early in the second half when the midfielder chested the ball down just outside the box and unleashed a fierce strike past Melker Ellborg. Szoboszlai made some spectacular contributions last season, and he has started off in the same vein.<\/p>\n Szobo back with a bang \ud83d\udca5 pic.twitter.com\/TWuP1t6g2r<\/a><\/p>\n
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