Andoni Iraola told his Liverpool team they have work to do after squandering a 2-0 lead against Monaco to lose a second successive pre-season friendly.
The former Bournemouth coach last managed a game at Anfield almost exactly a year ago in the memorable opener to the 2025-26 Premier League season, a game the Cherries were unfortunate to lose 4-2. Now on his debut in the home dugout, Iraola saw his team produce a similarly open display and lose again. It became clear Liverpool’s longstanding defensive frailties are still to be eliminated.
Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz scored in the first half as the hosts exhibited some free-flowing football, but Monaco dominated a second half that became fragmented as Iraola and Monaco’s Filipe Luís made wholesale changes.
“As soon as we have made some changes they start to get tired, we cannot sustain that level, so we have work to do,” Iraola told LFCTV on Liverpool’s “frustrating” regression after a bright start. “They were much better in the second half, in the same way we were better in the first half.”
After Liverpool beat Wrexham and Sunderland during a pre-season tour to the US, a 4-2 defeat against Leeds brought back memories of the struggles of last season. This result will cause some concerns with transfer activity dragging its heels.
Ronald Araújo is at least due to arrive on loan from Barcelona. Although that deal is not yet complete, and Alexis Mac Allister is still to return from World Cup duty, Iraola’s team to face Monaco was strong, with Ifeanyi Ndukwe, 18, and Lewis Koumas, 20, the only fringe players to start if you exclude Kostas Tsimikas, back from a loan at Roma. Jérémy Jacquet and Curtis Jones were not considered because of fitness doubts, with Iraola at pains not to “rush” the £50m signing from Rennes into action after a chequered time with injury.
Iraola said: “Jérémy, we were in doubt whether to pick him today, should be fine for the next one. Curtis [there is] something wrong with his hip, [it] didn’t make sense to risk [him].”
Wirtz was sharp, testing Lukas Hradecky with an early shot. Isak’s opener on 16 minutes was met with a hearty cheer from the home faithful, perhaps not surprising given it was just the fourth time the Anfield crowd have been able to celebrate an Isak goal, competitive or otherwise.
The strike came after Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai’s slick midfield exchange, the former then finding the Swede, who rifled low into the corner. Koumas and Wirtz both squandered presentable chances, but it was soon 2-0 when the German forced home after a goalmouth scramble.
Iraola cut a relaxed figure on the touchline throughout and was content with his side’s attacking fluidity. The Spaniard’s preference for a high defensive line was evident throughout, though Alisson Becker was tested far less often than Hradecky until he had to face a 44th-minute penalty after Virgil van Dijk’s trip on Aleksandr Golovin. The Russian stroked home the spot-kick himself to make it 2-1 at the break, giving Alisson no chance.
Wataru Endo for Ndukwe and Giorgi Mamardashvili for Alisson were the only half-time substitutions from Iraola, who made more sweeping changes just before the hour, with Rio Ngumoha, Milos Kerkez and the summer signing Víctor Muñoz among those introduced.
By that stage it was 2-2, after Mamardashvili had saved from Mika Biereth only to see the striker tap in the rebound. Monaco’s goals were greeted with eerie silence given there were almost no away fans. There were some groans from home supporters frustrated at seeing their side fritter away a two-goal lead and Ngumoha’s name was sung when he came on.
That Ngumoha was selected on the right wing – Mohamed Salah’s old stomping ground – was lost on nobody, nor was the fact that both the youngster and Muñoz were brought on ahead of Federico Chiesa. The Italian did appear after 74 minutes along with Harvey Elliott, who was welcomed warmly back to Anfield after his nightmare on loan at Aston Villa.
Monaco carved out the better chances in the search for the next goal, with Flávio Nazinho firing wide, and Oumar Konaté failing to seize on a good through ball, before their 88th-minute winner stemmed from a corner swung in from the left, which Paris Brunner met with a sweet header.
There was no Anfield roar to push the hosts on to equalise as there would have been in a competitive match, and Liverpool’s side resembled a reserves squad by the end, but it was still a tame finish nonetheless. Only a double-header against Como – the first of which will be played behind closed doors – now remains before Iraola’s competitive debut away at Newcastle on 23 August, with his home league debut coming against Nottingham Forest a week later. The new manager will demand an improvement in the next fortnight.
