The Andoni Iraola era kicked off in winning fashion at GEODIS Park in Nashville. Liverpool delivered an entertaining 4-2 victory over Sunderland to open their American pre-season tour.
The Reds started brightly and took the lead on 12 minutes. Harvey Elliott slipped a clever pass through to Kieran Morrison, who drifted inside from the right and tucked a precise finish into the bottom corner.
An early concern arose when captain Joe Gomez went off injured inside ten minutes, forcing a reshuffle in defence.
Sunderland responded well and levelled through Enzo Le Fee, who unleashed a long-range strike past Giorgi Mamardashvili.
The Black Cats flipped the game on its head four minutes after the break when Timur Tutierov finished from close range.
However, the response from Iraola’s side was superb. Dominik Szoboszlai, wearing the captain’s armband for the second half, restored parity on 56 minutes with a brilliant half-volley from the edge of the box.
Liverpool took complete control of the tempo from that point. Federico Chiesa put the Reds back in front on 72 minutes, slotting home from a tight angle after sharp work in the build-up.
The result was sealed five minutes from full-time when Lewis Koumas latched onto a pass from Szoboszlai, stepped past his defender, and finished coolly.
It was a promising first outing under the new head coach. Youthful energy mixed seamlessly with senior quality, giving Liverpool fans plenty to be excited about as the pre-season tour continues.
