Liverpool’s Pre-Season Reality Check: What Iraola Really Learned From the Leeds Collapse

Pre-season friendlies are supposed to raise more questions than they answer. Liverpool's 4-2 defeat to Leeds did exactly that, just not quite in the way Andoni Iraola would have wanted.

A tale of two halves is a cliche, but there's no better way to describe what happened in Chicago. The first half was encouraging. The second was alarming. And taken together, they paint a picture of a squad that still has serious gaps to fill before a ball is kicked competitively.

When Liverpool Looked Like the Real Deal

Credit where it's due. The first half against Leeds was Liverpool's best 45 minutes under Iraola. Not the best of pre-season. The best since he took charge.

Alexander Isak looked sharp on his return, Florian Wirtz scored a brilliant team goal that also involved Isak, and Liverpool pressed Leeds off the pitch with the kind of intensity Iraola has been demanding in training. Luke Chambers opened the scoring from a corner in the seventh minute, Trey Nyoni was excellent again, and the whole thing clicked in a way that suggested the big-money summer signings are settling in fast.

Wirtz and Isak cost a combined £225m. When they're both fit and firing, Liverpool look like genuine title contenders. That's not hype. That's what we saw in the first half in Chicago, and it matters.

How a 2-0 Lead Became a 4-2 Defeat

Then the second half happened.

Iraola made wholesale changes at the break, as managers do in pre-season. But the collapse that followed wasn't just about unfamiliar combinations or rusty legs. Liverpool conceded four goals in 25 minutes, and the manner of those goals told a story.

Set-piece defending was shambolic. The backline that finished the game, Calvin Ramsay, Ifeanyi Ndukwe, Mor Talla Ndiaye and Kostas Tsimikas, was always going to be thin, but the ease with which Leeds carved them open was concerning. More worrying was the attitude of the senior players still on the pitch. Curtis Jones and Federico Chiesa didn't cover themselves in glory.

Squad depth is the issue. Liverpool don't have enough bodies of sufficient quality beyond the first XI, and a centre-half crisis forced Luke Chambers to play as a makeshift centre-back. That's not a squad ready to compete on four fronts.

What This Means for Iraola's Transfer Plans

Iraola has been open about wanting to see his squad before making decisions. Well, he's seen enough now.

The United States tour produced no incomings for Liverpool. That window is now closed, and Iraola will be heading back to Merseyside knowing exactly what gaps need filling before the serious stuff starts. Reinforcements at centre-back look essential. More physicality throughout the squad is needed.

The reunion with Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Alisson Becker and new signing Victor Munoz will give the squad a different look in training almost immediately. Alexis Mac Allister will follow shortly after. When Liverpool's full squad is together for the first time under Iraola, the picture will look considerably better than what we saw in the second half in Chicago.

Nyoni is another positive subplot worth watching. The 19-year-old has been linked with a loan move, but on this form it would be a mistake to send him out. He's ready for first-team minutes at Liverpool, and Iraola clearly rates him.

Our Read on Liverpool's Season Chances

Don't read too much into the scoreline. Pre-season results are noise. What matters is the signal beneath them.

The signal from Chicago is that Liverpool's ceiling under Iraola is very high when the top players are fit and engaged. Isak and Wirtz together look genuinely frightening. The press is real. The style is clear.

The signal is also that Liverpool's floor is dangerously low when depth is tested. One injury to a key defender or central midfielder and the problems we saw in the second half against Leeds could resurface in a Premier League game that actually matters.

For anyone thinking about backing Liverpool for the title this season, that's the bet in a nutshell. If Iraola gets the squad reinforcements he needs in the coming weeks, Liverpool are a genuine challenger at whatever price the market offers. If they go into August with the same squad depth issues, they'll be inconsistent enough to blow the title race wide open.

The first half in Chicago showed us the dream. The second half showed us the risk. Right now, both are very much alive.