Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo both impressed in Liverpool's 2-0 pre-season win over Como, leaving head coach Andoni Iraola with a selection dilemma for the Premier League opener at Newcastle United next Sunday. The two centre-backs are vying to start alongside captain Virgil van Dijk at St James' Park.
Jacquet and Araujo Shine in Pre-Season Win
Jacquet scored Liverpool's second goal with a tap-in from three yards out after Cody Gakpo's pass across the face of goal, capping a solid first-half display. Araujo, on a season-long loan from Barcelona, also caught the eye with a no-nonsense, tackle-anything-that-moves approach, even flattening team-mate Ryan Gravenberch in one challenge.
Liverpool's first goal came from Gakpo, who slammed home with his weaker left foot after Jeremie Frimpong drove at the Como defence and lofted a cross for his team-mate to control and finish. Frimpong also made a superb tackle to deny Como inside the penalty area.
Frimpong's Encouraging Outing
At a time when Liverpool look light on the right side of the pitch, Frimpong's performance was encouraging. The versatile former Bayer Leverkusen man is seen by Iraola as an adventurous right-back, and if he can stay injury-free, he stands a decent chance of making his second season at Anfield more productive.
Jacquet, a £60m signing, had not played since a season-ending injury at Rennes in February, just days after his move was confirmed. Despite a tendency to go to ground inside the area, he delivered several expertly-timed challenges to deny Como. The 21-year-old's performance demanded the shirt for Newcastle, but he was not the only one who did that.
Iraola's Welcome Headache
Iraola, after weeks of shuffling his pack and relying on teenagers at the heart of his defence this pre-season, now has a more welcome headache in his centre-back options. Giovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez are set to return from their respective lay-offs in the coming weeks.
However, the issue of replacing Mohamed Salah remains unresolved. Five months after Salah announced his ninth campaign at Anfield would be his last, Liverpool are no nearer hatching a plan for his successor. Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye were left out of Paris Saint-Germain's squad for the French Community Shield against Lens, and neither featured in the UEFA Super Cup win over Aston Villa, but that means little for Liverpool right now.
Rio Ngumoha was trialled on the right wing before being replaced by Victor Munoz in the second period. Iraola insists his wide attackers must learn to operate on both flanks, but both Ngumoha and Munoz are more effective on the left. The imbalance is stark: players are queueing to play wide left, but less so on the opposite flank. Only Federico Chiesa and Lewis Koumas would name that role as their preferred one, and neither can be a serious option in the long term. Chiesa was unused here after playing in the behind-closed-doors draw at the AXA Training Centre earlier in the day.
Iraola has stardust at his disposal and players with a point to prove after the troubled term of 2025/26, but right now this is an incomplete Liverpool squad.
