Liverpool began their summer tour of the United States with a 4-2 victory over Sunderland as new head coach Andoni Iraola celebrated a successful first match in charge. The Reds recovered from a second half deficit, with goals from Kieran Morrison, Dominik Szoboszlai, Federico Chiesa and Lewis Koumas sealing the comeback.
Despite the positive result, Liverpool suffered an early setback after experienced defender Joe Gomez was forced off with an apparent muscle injury.
Liverpool overturn deficit after lively second half
Liverpool made a bright start in Nashville and opened the scoring after 13 minutes through academy midfielder Kieran Morrison. The move featured sharp combination play from James McConnell, Rio Ngumoha and Harvey Elliott before Morrison calmly found the bottom corner.
Sunderland equalised before the break when Enzo Le Fee punished a Liverpool mistake with a powerful long range strike.
Shortly after halftime, Sunderland took the lead as Frimpong lost possession, allowing Luka Tuterov to finish confidently and make it 2-1.
Liverpool responded quickly. Dominik Szoboszlai produced a superb volley from the edge of the area to level the score after good work from Lewis Koumas and Milos Kerkez. Federico Chiesa then put the Reds in front with a composed finish from a tight angle before Koumas added a fourth late in the match to complete the win.
Gomez injury clouds encouraging performance
The main concern for Liverpool came inside the opening minutes when stand in captain Joe Gomez picked up what appeared to be a muscle injury. The defender was replaced by youngster Ifeanyi Ndukwe after just 10 minutes.
Gomez has struggled with injuries throughout his Liverpool career, making the latest setback another worry for Iraola. The squad is already missing several defensive options after Ibrahima Konate departed at the end of last season, while Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet were unavailable through injury.
Iraola pleased with the start but sees room for improvement
Speaking after the match, Iraola said there were clear differences between the two halves and admitted his players lacked freshness after their preseason training.
The Liverpool manager described the victory as a positive foundation while acknowledging there were plenty of areas to improve before the new campaign. He also admitted that Gomez’s injury was the biggest disappointment of the evening after the squad had completed training without any previous fitness problems.
Liverpool’s overall display gave Iraola several positives to build on, with the team showing attacking quality, improving as the game progressed and giving valuable minutes to every player involved.
