Liverpool start Iraola season in style to beat Sunderland but Gomez’s injury exposes defense | Liverpool

Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool season opened with a win over Sunderland in Nashville – and deepening concerns about the defensive options at his disposal. The sight of Joe Gomez bouncing around after 10 minutes of the new manager’s first game and the two young lads forming a central defensive partnership in his absence reinforced the spotlight on a department in need of work.

Liverpool had few problems at the other end of the pitch against Regis Le Bris’s side, who shone in pink in Tennessee, with second-half finishes Dominik Szoboszlai, Federico Chiesa and Lewis Koumas scoring comfortably.

Geodis Park paid tribute to the late Kevin Keegan before kick-off with both sets of supporters applauding Liverpool, Hamburg and Newcastle before observing a moment of silence in his memory. The crowd itself was sparse, with many empty seats around the 30,000-capacity stadium, although the official attendance stood at 24,897. Charging from $129 to $392 (£96 to £292) for tickets for a pre-season friendly that lacks its World Cup players perhaps explains why.

Sunderland were without Granit Xhaka, Brian Brobbey and summer signing Thomas Meunier. Liverpool’s absentee list includes World Cup finalists Alexis Mac Allister and Victor Munoz, Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Ryan Gravenberch, who will join the trip next week, and Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Alisson, who have resumed pre-season training but are back on Merseyside.

Liverpool have also had a summer signing lost. Jeremy Jacquet, a £55m signing from Rennes, has been left out as a precaution but is expected to feature before the tour ends against Leeds in Chicago next Sunday.

After expressing concern about his “very limited” defensive options earlier in the week, Iraola’s resources were greatly stretched when Gomez suffered an early injury. The fortunate Gomez was unable to continue after treatment and his departure meant that Liverpool’s central defense was made up of two 18-year-old January signings, Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe. Kostas Tsimikas took the captain’s armband from Gomez, and passed it on to Szoboszlai when he was substituted in time.

Talla Ndiaye, a £1m signing from Amitie in Senegal, and Ndukwe, a £2.5m signing from Austria Vienna who only joined Liverpool this summer, reflect Liverpool’s policy of recruiting centre-backs in the future. The here and now must be talked about. With Iraima Konate leaving for Real Madrid, Giovanni Leoni yet to return to full training after his ACL injury, Gomez prone to injuries and Jacquet untested in the Premier League, despite being highly ranked, the responsibility on Van Dijk will be huge next season. As it was last season.

The answer to the future question of who scored the first goal of Iraola’s time at Liverpool is Kieran Morrison. The 19-year-old started on the right, also known as the gap left by Mohamed Salah, and finished well into the far corner of Melker Ellborg’s goal when released inside the area by Harvey Elliott, another player eager to impress Liverpool’s new manager following a disappointing season at Aston Villa.

Sunderland equalized in style when Enzo Le Fee broke through midfield and swept a stunning shot into the top corner for Giorgi Mamardashvili from 25 yards. Le Bris made 10 changes at half-time, Iraola five, and Sunderland took an immediate lead when Jaydon Jones picked out Timur Tutierov in the area and the striker volleyed past the Liverpool keeper from 12 yards.

Szoboszlai gave most of the crowd what they paid for when he controlled Sunderland from 22 yards and beat Ellborg with a convincing finish. Chiesa steered a brilliant shot into the middle of the post from Calvin Ramsay’s post behind the Sunderland defense before Koumas, brought on by Szoboszlai, sealed the win.