When Anfield had last hosted Liverpool, as Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson bade farewell and their teammates embarked on their final lap of honour, Arne Slot had remained sat in the dugout. It proved the last sighting of him in Liverpool. Some 11 weeks later, Slot’s successor was a visible presence on the edge of the technical area, Andoni Iraola’s constant clapping encouraging his players at the start of a new era. It began with echoes of the old: a 3-2 defeat to Monaco, with a lead lost at Anfield, and with a goal conceded to a set-piece, had some similarities with Slot’s unravelling, even if the stakes were lower.
Iraola may hope the parallels with last season end when the competitive football starts. As it was, Liverpool outlined why they require Ronald Araujo and how their recruitment is unfinished. They have a left-back – Robertson’s replacement is his former deputy, a returning Kostas Tsimikas making his Anfield comeback – but Salah’s old spot remains unfilled. Lewis Koumas was a locum in the place of a legend on the right flank; the Welsh winger may be destined for a fourth straight loan spell rather than a run in the team.
His presence was an illustration that Liverpool’s business stalled after the June signing of Victor Munoz. They are yet to achieve their main objective. One ambitious target, Yan Diomande, has already eluded them. Another is out of reach as long as there is a significant difference between Liverpool’s valuation of Bradley Barcola and Paris Saint-Germain’s. There is no point in putting in a bid now when the European champions want well over £100m.
Liverpool have shown a willingness to pay such sums in the past; but their budget is limited now. Their two £100m men from 2025 struck in a way that at least offered optimism they will deliver more this season than last.
Alexander Isak only found the net twice at Anfield in his debut campaign for Liverpool; a friendly goal will not count towards his official tally but was guided in after a pass from Ryan Gravenberch. Isak and Florian Wirtz struck in the same game, which they only did once for Slot. The German got a poacher’s goal, bundling the ball over the line after Cody Gakpo’s header was blocked, even if Isak claimed he got the final touch. If Wirtz alternated between central and wide roles under Slot, Iraola has installed him as his No 10.
There seems a clarity to that and a more vertical brand of football after the passiveness of Slotball irritated Anfield. Distinct differences were apparent in Iraola’s home bow. It was notable that the full-backs were often far more advanced than Gravenberch. That may suit Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, though the latter did not start against Monaco, more than Slot’s style of football did. Yet it also gives a need for centre-backs who can defend one on one.
And, as Liverpool turned victory into defeat, they underlined why the middle of the defence has been the other focus of their recruitment drive, and why additions are necessary. Araujo is undergoing a medical before he completes his surprise loan from Barcelona. Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni, the youngsters who arrived for a combined fee of almost £100m, are yet to play in pre-season; Joe Gomez is already injured.
Virgil van Dijk, in his first appearance since the World Cup, could be forgiven for rustiness when he tripped Aleksandr Golovin to concede a penalty the Russian converted himself. Wataru Endo, who spent the second half at centre-back, and Frimpong were both partly culpable when Mika Biereth levelled the scores.
Endo had come on for the great success of Liverpool’s tour of the United States. The giant Ifeanyi Ndukwe excelled again in the first half. The problem is that he is ineligible for competitive games, lacking a work permit, perhaps meaning a loan abroad beckons. In the Austrian and the Senegalese Mor Talla Ndiaye, Liverpool have two precocious 18-year-olds. Their defensive future can look secure. The concerns are about the present.
Araujo will tick some boxes; at 27, he is roughly halfway between Van Dijk and the duo of the 19-year-old Leoni and Jacquet, 21, in age and, unlike Gomez, is fit now. Liverpool need a bridge to the next generation. They hoped it would be Ibrahima Konate, but he wanted a financial package that could have felt a problem if, in a couple of years, he found himself understudying Leoni and Jacquet; or, indeed, Ndukwe.
Konate left without a proper goodbye. Harvey Elliott, who could have been gone for good, returned from his unproductive loan at Aston Villa to the loudest cheer of the afternoon. It may not herald a second coming at Anfield, however: he was the third man used at No 10, after Wirtz and then Dominik Szoboszlai, who had begun in midfield.
Even as he made 11 substitutions, there were other glimpses into Iraola’s thinking. Rio Ngumoha ended the game on the right flank. He may have to step into Salah’s shoes in more meaningful matches.