Liverpool beats Sunderland 4-2 in Nashville pre‑season friendly

Liverpool opened the Andoni Iraola era with a 4‑2 victory over Sunderland at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee. The win gave the Spanish coach a positive start, but the match was marred early by a serious injury to captain Joe Gomez, who was forced off after eight minutes.

Goals came from Kieran Morrison (13'), Enzo Le Fée equalised for Sunderland (28'), Timur Tutierv gave the visitors a lead (49'), then Dominik Szoboszlai (56'), Federico Chiesa (72') and Lewis Koumas (85') restored Liverpool’s dominance and secured the final score. Post‑match, Iraola said the squad showed attacking promise but highlighted the defensive set‑back caused by Gomez’s injury and the need for depth ahead of the Premier League season.

The friendly was part of Liverpool’s US pre‑season tour, which also includes fixtures against Wrexham and Leeds. The result offers an early tactical read on the new manager’s system and raises questions about the club’s back‑line, given the absence of several regular defenders such as Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté.