Andoni Iraola began his Liverpool tenure with a commanding 4-2 victory over Sunderland in a pre-season friendly at Nashville SC Stadium, drawing 24,897 fans to watch the Reds' first outing of their summer tour of the United States.

Goals from Kieran Morrison, Dominik Szoboszlai, Federico Chiesa, and Lewis Koumas secured the win, though the evening carried one significant concern — stand-in captain Joe Gomez limped off after just eight minutes with what appeared to be a muscle injury.

A fine opening goal for the Iraola era

Liverpool made a bright start, with Morrison opening the scoring in the 13th minute after an intricate team move involving McConnell, Ngumoha, and Elliott, who slipped the young midfielder through on the right side of the box for a composed finish into the bottom corner.

Sunderland, however, hit back. In the 28th minute, Émile Le Fée capitalised on a McConnell error deep inside his own half, surging forward and driving an unstoppable long-range effort past goalkeeper Mamardashvili to level proceedings. Then, four minutes into the second half, Tuterov — one of Sunderland's half-time introductions — slotted home after Jeremie Frimpong was dispossessed in a dangerous area, giving the Black Cats a 2-1 lead.

Second-half substitutes swing the match

Iraola responded with a raft of changes at the interval, and Liverpool's second-half display was markedly sharper. Szoboszlai restored parity in the 56th minute with a thunderous left-footed volley from the edge of the box after Sunderland only partially cleared a Reds attack down the left involving Koumas and Milos Kerkez.

Chiesa put Liverpool ahead in the 72nd minute, finishing from a tight angle after Aaron Ramsey found him in the box, before Koumas wrapped up the scoring in the 85th minute with a confident finish after Szoboszlai picked him out inside the area.

Iraola's verdict