Iraola starts Liverpool reign with 4-2 win over Sunderland in Nashville

Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool debut ended in a 4-2 victory over Sunderland in Nashville, but Joe Gomez’s injury quickly cast a shadow over a promising first look at the new era. Kieran Morrison, Dominik Szoboszlai, Federico Chiesa and Lewis Koumas scored for Liverpool in the pre-season friendly, which kicked off at 5pm local time, 11pm BST.

The match offered Liverpool’s first in-game glimpse of Iraola’s ideas after the club arrived in Nashville on Friday for the opening stop on its United States tour. Liverpool’s schedule in America also includes matches in New York and Chicago, with the tour designed to give the new head coach a fuller read on a squad that BBC Sport said was largely together for pre-season, even though only three representatives were still at the World Cup at that stage.

Gomez’s departure changed the tone of the evening. ESPN reported that the defender was forced off during the game, and Iraola admitted the loss of Gomez created a new defensive headache. That concern matters because Liverpool’s back line is already under scrutiny, and a pre-season trip that was meant to build rhythm has now also become a test of depth before the competitive campaign begins.

Liverpool FC said afterward that Iraola described the result as “a good starting point”, a fair summary of a night that showed attacking fluency without erasing the questions behind it. Natasha Dowie said there was a buzz around Iraola’s playing style, and the performance in Nashville gave supporters an early look at why: Liverpool moved well enough to score four times while still leaving room for a sharper defensive structure.

Sunderland arrived having already played York on 18 July and with Leeds United in New Jersey next on their pre-season itinerary, making this one of the first clear reference points for Regis le Bris’s side as well. For Liverpool, though, the bigger takeaway was the split-screen feel of the night. The goals from Morrison, Szoboszlai, Chiesa and Koumas pointed to immediate promise; Gomez’s injury reminded everyone how quickly momentum in a new regime can be complicated by one bad setback.