Pre‑season fixtures often spark heated debate about how much they truly matter. Some fans treat them as a crystal ball for the upcoming campaign, while others view them as merely a series of low‑stakes exhibition matches.
At Anfield, the excitement that usually surrounds the arrival of new signings and the chance to see the team gel has been abruptly muted by a string of disappointing results on the pitch and unsettling signs off it. There is no scientific formula that links friendly outcomes to league performance. Consider Arsenal’s 2022‑23 summer: they suffered a loss to Thomas Frank’s Tottenham in Hong Kong and were beaten at home by Villarreal in a penultimate warm‑up game.
Yet, within nine months, Arsenal’s manager was dismissed, the club went on to claim the Premier League title, and they reached the Champions League final, only falling short in a penalty shoot‑out. By that logic, Liverpool’s recent two‑goal defeats to Leeds United and Monaco could be dismissed as inconsequential. Nevertheless, there are encouraging signs for new manager Andoni Iraola. Young talents like Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, who both endured challenging first seasons on Merseyside, have shown promise in the friendlies, each finding the net against Monaco on Sunday.
Their progress suggests that the squad possesses the technical quality to thrive under Iraola’s system. The bigger story, however, lies in a growing concern that the new coach has already highlighted publicly, with less than two weeks remaining before Liverpool’s season opener against Newcastle on August 23, broadcast live on Sky Sports. Those back‑to‑back collapses have thrown a spotlight on one of Liverpool’s most pressing issues – player fitness. Last season, Bournemouth, under Iraola’s guidance, logged more sprints than any other Premier League side, reflecting the high‑pressing, physically demanding style he favours.
Liverpool, by contrast, ranked among the lowest in the league for total pressures and opposition‑half high presses. While Jurgen Klopp’s tenure ingrained a culture of pressing at Anfield, the transition to Iraola’s philosophy demands both mental adaptation and, crucially, a higher level of physical conditioning as the campaign looms.
After the Monaco game, Iraola admitted that his players might only be capable of executing his tactics for as little as thirty minutes at a stretch. “We played well in the first half, especially the first 30 minutes, but right now probably we don’t have much more in terms of the level required to play like this,” he told the club’s media channels.
This candid assessment underscores a broader problem: limited game time for the squad. Rival clubs have begun to prioritise continuity over rotation in their final friendlies. Manchester City, Arsenal and Aston Villa – all Champions League qualifiers – each kept at least five outfield starters on the pitch for 75 minutes or more.
Liverpool, by comparison, managed only three players for an hour in the same period. Even Newcastle, Liverpool’s first opponent, gave six players at least 67 minutes against Valencia, despite an early injury to Jacob Murphy. The implication is clear: Liverpool’s squad may be lagging behind its rivals in terms of match fitness, and depth will become a pivotal factor once the season starts. This is where Iraola’s challenges compound.
While Chelsea could summon Nicolas Jackson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Estevão from the bench to secure a 3‑0 win over AC Milan, Liverpool fielded a makeshift centre‑back pairing of Wataru Endo and Luke Chambers – the latter having spent the previous season on loan at Charlton – for most of the second half against Monaco. Beyond the back line, the bench offers limited experience. Victor Muñoz and Miloš Kerkez, both likely to start against Newcastle, have only eight Premier League starts between them from the previous season, five of which came from 17‑year‑old Rio Ngumoha.
Iraola is well aware of the thinness of his squad; within weeks of his appointment he publicly urged the club to bring in reinforcements, yet the transfer market has not delivered the catalyst he hoped for. The departure of Michael Edwards in July and ongoing speculation surrounding Richard Hughes add further uncertainty. Even the surprise signing of Ronald Araújo, while helpful, does not fully resolve Liverpool’s centre‑back dilemma – Conor Bradley remains months away from returning to full fitness, leaving only Kostas Tsimikas and Miloš Kerkez as reliable options on the flanks.
Looking ahead, Liverpool must also address the void left by Mohamed Salah. While Victor Muñoz provides a temporary solution, interest from Tottenham in Cody Gakpo and Inter Milan’s pursuit of Curtis Jones indicate that the attacking department is far from settled.
After splashing more than £400 million in the summer – a figure that remains staggering even after accounting for player sales – it is reasonable to expect Liverpool to have a more balanced roster. Some of the defensive frailties stem from bad luck rather than poor planning. Injuries to Jeremy Jaquez, Giovanni Leoni and now Joe Gomez have depleted the centre‑back pool, highlighting the need for both depth and durability. With only Alexis Mac Allister returning from World Cup duty, the pre‑season has served as a diagnostic tool, exposing gaps in wide‑forward positions and midfield that must be filled before the transfer window shuts.
The next three weeks are crucial; the ability of the club to act decisively will shape how quickly Iraola can embed his high‑pressing, intense style. Few expect Liverpool to replicate Slot’s debut season success or to lift the Premier League trophy by the end of next May. Yet the distance between those aspirations and reality will largely depend on how the club navigates the final days of the transfer market and whether the players can bridge the fitness gap before the season truly begins.