The Andoni Iraola era at Liverpool began with a 4-2 victory over Sunderland in Nashville, but the new head coach's joy was punctured within 10 minutes when Joe Gomez hobbled off with an injury that leaves the club's defensive woes laid bare.
Gomez, starting as centre-back and captain, went down in the eighth minute and was replaced, forcing two 18-year-olds — Mor Talla N'Diaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe — to form a raw central partnership until the 68th minute. Both made their debuts and performed admirably, but neither is expected to feature regularly yet.
“Joe Gomez injured after 10 minutes as Liverpool beat Sunderland 4-2, but Iraola admits defensive depth is 'very thin'.”
"Probably the worst news has been straight away the injury of Joe," Iraola admitted. "We were happy because we were going through training without losing any players and unluckily for us we've lost Joe straight away."
The injury intensifies the spotlight on a defence already described by Iraola as "very thin" — a assessment that Liverpool's sporting director, Richard Hughes, witnessed first-hand from the stands. With Ibrahima Konate having left for Real Madrid on a free transfer and Virgil van Dijk (35, with one year left on his contract) still on extended leave after the Netherlands' World Cup campaign, experience at the back is scarce.
New £55m signing Jeremy Jacquet, acquired from Rennes, missed the game as a precaution after a shoulder injury that kept him out for the second half of last season. "With Jeremy we decided to take it easy with him," Iraola said. "He will play probably in the last game of this tour." Meanwhile, Giovanni Leoni, 19, is still recovering from a severe ACL tear.
On the pitch, Liverpool's attack provided consolation. Kieran Morrison opened the scoring with a fine left-footed finish after Harvey Elliott's surging run, before Sunderland hit back through Timur Tutierov and Enzo le Fee. Dominik Szoboszlai, wearing the armband after half-time, levelled with a stunning strike from outside the box, and Federico Chiesa and Lewis Koumas sealed the win in the second half.
Iraola was also impressed by lively displays from Calum Scanlon, Morrison and Koumas, but the defensive uncertainty — with ESPN reporting that a centre-half was not seen as a priority before Gomez's injury — looms over the remainder of Liverpool's US tour. The next test comes against Leeds in Chicago next Sunday, when Jacquet may finally make his debut.