On the flight home from Chicago, as he reflects on the 4-2 loss to Leeds that ended Liverpool‘s United States tour, manager Andoni Iraola will have plenty to think about.
The first-half display was arguably the best since he took charge of Liverpool, but the second was categorically their worst as they conceded four times without reply inside 25 minutes.
Iraola did make a raft of changes at the break and in the second half but that is no excuse for the way they capitulated against Daniel Farke’s side.
Their lack of squad depth and physicality was alarmingly exposed and Iraola will be concerned with the ease with which Leeds scored, albeit against an inexperienced backline that finished with Calvin Ramsay, Ifeanyi Ndukwe, Mor Talla Ndiaye and Kostas Tsimikas.
With Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz making their return, Liverpool were excellent in the first half and it is important not to be too critical but perhaps Iraola will be glad in the long-run that he saw this second-half display, where Liverpool‘s set-piece deficiencies were evident too.
The intensity Iraola demands on the training pitch was evident in the first half but seemed non-existent after the break. Senior figures like Curtis Jones and Federico Chiesa did not cover themselves in glory.
“I particularly hate this month of August because you start the competitions and you still don’t know if some of the players are going to leave and who’s going to come – there is a lot of uncertainty,” said Iraola, earlier in the week.
Iraola will meet Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Alisson Becker and new signing Victor Munoz over the coming days at the AXA Training Centre.
By then, the only first-team player he will have yet to meet will be Alexis Mac Allister, who has been granted extra time off following Argentina’s run to the World Cup final. Munoz, who did not play a minute in Spain’s successful World Cup campaign, will return earlier to aid his integration into the squad.
However, over the course of a fortnight in America, Liverpool have had no incomings. That was in part because Iraola wanted to see the squad at his disposal before making decisions. What he saw in this defeat will play into those decisions.
“I think we learn a lot of things. Obviously it’s not the result you want but I think (it was) probably the most useful friendly we played – in a positive way in the first half and in a negative way in the second half,” said Iraola. “I think we’ve learned a lot and I think we can take good conclusions and solve some things.”