Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola said his side has 'work to do' after losing 3-2 to Monaco at Anfield on Sunday, two weeks before the start of the Premier League season — the second successive friendly in which the club gave up a two-goal advantage and went on to lose.
Iraola says Liverpool have 'work to do' after second straight friendly collapse
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola said his side has 'work to do' after losing 3-2 to Monaco at Anfield on Sunday, two weeks before the start of the Premier League season — the second successive friendly in which the club gave up a two-goal advantage and went on to lose.
Liverpool had also lost 4-2 to Leeds in Chicago on 2 August, a match in which they conceded four goals in 25 minutes without reply. Against Monaco, they conceded three unanswered goals across 44 minutes. Iraola made nine substitutions against Leeds and 11 against Monaco.
Iraola said his side played a good first 30 minutes against Monaco but that 'they don't have much more, in terms of the levels required to play like this.' He described the general fitness of the squad as something that must improve if Liverpool are to sustain the style he wants for a full game.
Some squad members are still returning to fitness following time off after the World Cup. Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike, and Giovanni Leoni are sidelined for lengthy periods. Uruguay defender Ronald Araujo, who can play at centre-back and right-back, completed a season-long loan from Barcelona on Monday.
Pablo de la Torre, one of Iraola's assistants and a former fitness coach at Bournemouth, has joined Liverpool's staff. During an open training session in Chicago, Iraola repeatedly used the phrase 'quicker, quicker,' and one player told BBC Sport he felt sick after the first few sessions; the punishment for losing sides in training was to sprint the length of the pitch and back.
Midfielder Milos Kerkez said in Chicago that Iraola is asking players to 'play one-on-one all over the pitch, to press high and to always be on the front foot.' Iraola's Bournemouth side ranked first in the Premier League for direct attacks and third for high turnovers during his tenure. It took him 10 games to record his first win at Bournemouth in the 2023-24 season.
When asked in Chicago whether it would take time before his style of play was fully visible, Iraola said: 'I would like to say, no, on the first day, we are going to be perfect, everyone will be in place, but probably it is not going to be like this. We will have to do this as quickly as possible.'
- The source does not state the exact date of the Monaco friendly.
- The source does not state when Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak joined the squad or what their injury or fitness status is.
- The source does not state the expected return dates for Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike, or Giovanni Leoni.
- The source does not state the length or financial terms of Ronald Araujo's loan from Barcelona.
- The source does not state Liverpool's full pre-season fixture list or overall record across all four pre-season games referenced.