Liverpool begin Iraola era with 4-2 comeback victory over Sunderland
By Joel Masibo, July 26, 2026Andoni Iraola enjoyed a successful first outing as Liverpool head coach after watching his side recover from behind to defeat Sunderland 4-2 in the opening match of their pre-season tour in the United States on Sunday, July 26, 2026.
The Spaniard, who took over from Arne Slot in June, saw encouraging signs from his new team in difficult conditions in Nashville. Liverpool made a bright start and took the lead after 13 minutes through academy midfielder Kieran Morrison, whose composed finish capped an excellent passing move involving James McConnell, Rio Ngumoha and Harvey Elliott.
Sunderland responded before the interval when McConnell was dispossessed deep inside his own half, allowing Enzo Le Fee to surge forward before unleashing a superb long-range strike that beat Giorgi Mamardashvili and brought the Black Cats level.
Following the break, both managers introduced a host of changes. Sunderland grabbed the advantage shortly after halftime when Jeremie Frimpong surrendered possession in a dangerous area, enabling Tuterov to race through and calmly finish.
Liverpool reacted quickly. Dominik Szoboszlai restored parity with a spectacular volley after Lewis Koumas and Milos Kerkez combined well down the left flank. Sunderland only partially cleared the danger, allowing the Hungarian midfielder to fire an unstoppable effort into the net.
The Reds completed the turnaround midway through the second half. Calvin Ramsay slipped a pass into Federico Chiesa, who squeezed his finish past the advancing goalkeeper from a narrow angle to put Liverpool ahead.
Koumas then sealed the victory five minutes from time after Sunderland gifted possession away. Szoboszlai picked out the Welsh forward inside the box, and he confidently applied the finishing touch to make it 4-2.
Despite the encouraging result, Liverpool suffered an early setback when stand-in captain Joe Gomez limped off with what appeared to be a muscle injury after just a few minutes. The experienced defender was replaced by youngster Ifeanyi Ndukwe, leaving Iraola hoping the problem is not serious given Liverpool’s defensive injury concerns ahead of the new season.
Iraola’s match reflections
Reflecting on his team’s performance, Iraola admitted there is still plenty of work ahead despite the victory.
“I think it was different halves. Especially, they were a lot stronger in the first half. We kind of balanced both teams, and you could feel the difference. A lot of things to correct, obviously, it’s the first day.
“You could feel the heavy legs, the players have been training. So, we lacked some freshness. But it will give us a good starting point to improve things.
“Probably the worst news has been straight away the injury of Joe [Gomez]. We were happy because we were kind of going through all the training without losing any player. Unluckily for us, straight away we’ve lost Joe.”
Although the result itself was positive, the performance arguably offered even greater encouragement. Liverpool looked increasingly comfortable as the contest progressed, producing several impressive attacking moves while all 22 players involved gained valuable match fitness during the opening fixture of their summer preparations.
Attention will now turn to Gomez’s fitness. The 29-year-old has endured several injury setbacks during his Liverpool career, and his latest issue comes at a difficult time with Ibrahima Konate having departed on a free transfer, while Giovanni Leoni continues his recovery from an ACL injury and new signing Jeremy Jacquet also missed the game through a minor knock.