Accra: Liverpool started life under Andoni Iraola with a 4-2 win over Sunderland thanks to goals from Kieran Morrison, Dominik Szoboszlai, Federico Chiesa, and Lewis Koumas. But the Iraola era had initially got off to the worst possible start when Joe Gomez, who started the game as centre-back and captain, went down injured and was taken off in the eighth minute.
According to Ghana Web, Iraola expressed concern over the injury, stating, "Probably the worst news has been straight away the injury of Joe. We were happy because we were going through training without losing any players and unluckily for us we've lost Joe straight away." The absence of new signing Jeremy Jacquet, also a centre-half, compounded the defensive woes for Liverpool in their opening friendly of the USA tour.
Jacquet, who has been out for several months, was not featured in the match as Iraola opted for a cautious approach. "With Jeremy, we decided to take it easy with him. He's had a lot of months without playing and he's been training very well but we're going to take it easy with him," Iraola remarked. He hinted that Jacquet might see action in the final game of the tour to gain some match fitness.
The defensive line saw two teenage centre-backs, Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe, both 18, making their debuts and holding the line until the 68th minute. Despite their commendable performance, neither is expected to be a regular feature yet. Another young player, Giovanni Leoni, 19, is still working his way back from a severe ACL tear and continues with individual training.
Earlier in the week, Iraola had mentioned the defensive squad as "very thin." Liverpool's sporting director, Richard Hughes, who was present for the game in Nashville, likely noted the urgent need for experienced centre-backs, especially after witnessing Gomez's early exit.