Liverpool’s pre-season tour has been built around a single base in Chicago, with the squad flying to Nashville and New York for matches rather than relocating between cities. That approach was designed to maximise training time for a group aiming to rebound from a fifth-place Premier League finish last season.
On Friday, the players took part in an open session at Chicago Fire’s facility, with Andoni Iraola overseeing the hour-long workout ahead of Sunday’s friendly against Leeds United at Soldier Field. A third successive win on the trip would follow the friendly victories over Sunderland in Nashville and Wrexham in New York.
First summer appearances and a growing injury concern
Alexander Isak, Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz all took part in the first session ahead of their first appearances of the summer this weekend. Federico Chiesa was also involved once more, having missed Wednesday’s game through illness. Jeremy Jacquet remained absent, however, and is not expected to feature against Leeds, while Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley watched from the sidelines.
Iraola confirmed on Thursday that he expects Gomez to miss the opening game of the campaign against Newcastle United on August 23 with a muscle complaint. The defender has not flown home for treatment, though, and remains with the group in the United States. Jacquet, a £60m signing from Rennes this summer, worked in the gym with fellow centre-back Giovanni Leoni as the pair look to return to full fitness. Leoni suffered an ACL injury last September, while Jacquet has not played a minute since a season-ending shoulder issue in February.
Szoboszlai: the intensity is back
The decision to stay in one city and treat travel like a European schedule was approved prior to Iraola’s appointment in early June, it is understood. The head coach’s exacting methods are already having the desired effect, with Dominik Szoboszlai opening up about the intensity of the sessions in a press conference on Thursday.
“I think the intensity what we need, it’s here now,” Szoboszlai said. “What we have been missing, it’s back from the coach side, from the players’ side as well. So now we have to put this together with the quality of the players we have and I think it’s going to be quite nice.”
Szoboszlai and Jones all smiles after viral exchange
Szoboszlai was all smiles with Curtis Jones during the workout following their on-pitch disagreement at Yankee Stadium at full time. It has been suggested the interaction centred around the captain’s armband in the Bronx, worn by Kostas Tsimikas on the night after Szoboszlai was substituted. The exchange went viral on social media on Thursday, but there was clearly no bad blood between the pair as they repeatedly joked around during the session.
Mike Gordon returns to the fold
The afternoon session was overseen by Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon, who is set to attend the game and meet Iraola for the first time. Gordon, the day-to-day runner of the club, is planning to catch up with the head coach for the first time since his appointment in early June.
Gordon took a step back from acting as operating owner over two years ago when FSG restructured in the wake of Jurgen Klopp’s departure. He had been widely regarded as the most hands-on of the Fenway group but moved back to allow Michael Edwards the freedom to take charge as FSG’s CEO of football, a bespoke role created for his return in 2024. Following Edwards’s departure, which came after plans for a multi-club model within FSG’s portfolio were shelved, Gordon has become a more prominent figure once more at Anfield.
Gordon enjoyed a particularly close relationship with Klopp during the German’s decorated nine-year stint at Anfield. Speaking to the Echo in New York earlier this week, former chief executive Peter Moore explained why the FSG chief’s return can only be considered a positive.
“Look, you’ve got to steady the ship and so Mike has been in that role for the best part of 16 years, since the club was taken over,” Moore said. “When New England Sports Ventures, which then became FSG took over, Mike was going to be the ‘operator’. I reported to Mike and even though he was 2500 miles away in Boston, he was always available, he wasn’t short of opinions and he knew everything that was going on at the club at the time in both Chapel Street (club’s city centre offices), Melwood as it was at the time and Anfield. So Mike coming back, there’s no start-up period for Mike Gordon coming back, it’s exactly what needs to happen. I think Mike was desperate at that point (in 2024) to maybe take step back and spend more time with family but the moment Michael intimated it was not working out for him, Mike starts easing his way back into the fold.”
