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KUALA LUMPUR, JULY 2026 — Liverpool began their new era under manager Andoni Iraola with a 4-2 pre-season victory over Sunderland on Saturday, July 25, 2026.
The friendly in Nashville marked Iraola’s first match in charge of Liverpool following his appointment as the club’s new manager.
Kieran Morrison, Dominik Szoboszlai, Federico Chiesa and Lewis Koumas were all on target as Liverpool overcame their fellow Premier League side and opened their pre-season campaign with a positive result.
Despite the victory, Liverpool suffered an early setback when experienced defender Joe Gomez was forced to leave the pitch inside the opening 10 minutes because of an injury.
Iraola said there were still many areas for his team to correct, describing the match as an early stage in Liverpool’s preparations for the upcoming campaign.
The Spanish coach acknowledged that his players lacked freshness following a demanding period of training. However, he believed the performance provided the team with a useful starting point from which to improve.
Iraola identified Gomez’s injury as the most disappointing development from the match. Liverpool had completed their training sessions without losing any players to injury before the defender was forced off early against Sunderland.
The extent of Gomez’s injury was not immediately confirmed. His condition will be closely monitored as Liverpool continue their preparations for the new Premier League season.
Iraola also provided an update on centre-back Jeremy Jacquet, whose previous campaign was cut short by a shoulder injury before his summer transfer to Liverpool.
The manager said Liverpool would take a cautious approach with Jacquet because the defender had been out of competitive action for several months. He is expected to feature in the final match of Liverpool’s United States tour as the club gradually rebuilds his match fitness.
Liverpool are scheduled to play further pre-season matches against Wrexham, Leeds United, AS Monaco and Como before beginning their Premier League campaign.
The Reds will open their 2026-27 league season with an away match against Newcastle United on August 23, giving Iraola several more opportunities to assess his squad and implement his tactical approach before competitive action begins.
The victory over Sunderland represented an encouraging first step for Iraola, with Liverpool displaying attacking contributions from both senior players and younger members of the squad.
However, Gomez’s injury and the manager’s admission that improvements are still required underline the work that remains as Liverpool prepare for the challenges of the new season.
