Gomez injury overshadows winning start for Iraola's Liverpool

Liverpool began their pre-season under new manager Andoni Iraola with a 4-2 win against Sunderland, but the victory was marred by an early injury to captain Joe Gomez. Gomez, who started the match, was substituted in the eighth minute, a blow that Iraola described as "probably the worst news." The manager also noted that new signing Jeremy Jacquet was being managed carefully due to a lack of recent game time. With Virgil van Dijk absent, the defense featured 18-year-old center-backs Mor Talla N'diaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe, who performed admirably but are not expected to be regular starters. The squad's defensive frailty was evident, with Giovanni Leoni also sidelined. Despite the defensive concerns, there were positives. Dominik Szoboszlai scored a spectacular goal, and Kieran Morrison impressed with his finishing and attacking threat. Harvey Elliott also provided an assist on his return. Iraola's team showed good pressing in phases, though defensive lapses in conceding goals indicate areas for improvement.

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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.