Andoni Iraola has delivered a frank assessment of Liverpool's physical condition after his side surrendered a two-goal advantage for the second consecutive pre-season friendly, this time falling 3-2 to Monaco at Anfield.

The defeat mirrored a 4-2 loss to Leeds earlier in the tour, and Iraola pulled no punches in his verdict: Liverpool had played well for the opening 30 minutes but, in his own words, «they don't have much more, in terms of the levels required to play like this.»

A tale of two halves

The pattern across both games has been striking. Liverpool moved the ball with pace, pressed with intensity, and looked dangerous in the early stages — with Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak particularly sharp. Yet once substitutions began to flow, the team's shape and intensity dissolved. Leeds scored four unanswered goals in 25 minutes; Monaco replied with three in 44.

Iraola made nine changes against Leeds and 11 against Monaco, and the drop in cohesion was plain to see. Part of that drop can be attributed to some squad members still building fitness following time off after the World Cup, while others — including Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike, and Giovanni Leoni — are sidelined with longer-term injuries.

Reinforcements on the way

Uruguay centre-back Ronald Araujo, who can also operate at right-back, is close to finalising a season-long loan from Barcelona, which could offer some defensive relief in the weeks ahead.

Captain Virgil van Dijk offered a measured response after the Monaco defeat. «Let's see what the next couple of weeks are going to bring,» he said. «Any quality we can add to the team will definitely be welcome so let's see.»

Iraola's methods and his timeline

Iraola is insisting that collective fitness must rise significantly for Liverpool to sustain the high-intensity style he demands. His assistant Pablo de la Torre — who previously served as fitness coach at Bournemouth — has also made the move to Merseyside, underscoring the importance placed on physical conditioning within this new regime.

The early signs from training have been telling. Players have described gruelling sessions in Chicago where Iraola repeatedly urged them to go «quicker, quicker,» and where losing sides in training drills were made to sprint the full length of the pitch and back. Milos Kerkez described Iraola's demands as playing «one-on-one all over the pitch, to press high and to always be on the front foot.»

At Bournemouth, Iraola's side ranked first in the Premier League for direct attacks and third for high turnovers — a blueprint he is now attempting to transplant to Liverpool. It is also worth remembering that it took him 10 games to record his first win with Bournemouth in the 2023-24 season, before going on to build one of the division's most enterprising sides.

With the Premier League campaign two weeks away, Iraola is under no illusions about the scale of the task ahead — but he remains clear-eyed about the process. «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,» he said. «We will have to do this as quickly as possible.»