Kieran Morrison and Lewis Koumas both scored as Liverpool beat Sunderland 4-2 in a pre-season friendly in Nashville, with the youngsters expressing their admiration for new head coach Andoni Iraola's intense methods.
Morrison on Iraola's intensity
Morrison opened the scoring with a fine early goal and later spoke about the stark difference in training under Iraola compared to previous seasons. "It's been so intense compared to previous seasons," he said. "I've not been really around it — but from what everyone's telling me as well and what I've seen, it's been so intense. There's been double sessions, my legs have been finished by like 9pm! So, the intensity, what Andoni's brought is very high."
Morrison added that Iraola has introduced a new philosophy. "It's like a new philosophy this past week. Whatever he's been doing at Bournemouth, it's obviously worked. He's one of the best managers in the league. He's come here and he's taught me varied and different playing styles. He's telling me things I've never heard of before. It's a credit to Andoni."
Koumas on aggressive pressing
Wales international Koumas scored the final goal of the game and is keen to develop under Iraola after loan spells at Stoke, Birmingham and Hull. "He has a really aggressive style and he loves to press," said Koumas. "I think I can do that well and I think I can do it for him. So, hopefully it catches the eye."
Koumas revealed that Iraola wasted no time in giving him feedback. "There was no sort of 'well done' [after his goal], it was just talking about how I can get better at pressing. There was a time where I wanted to jump straight through but it would have affected the way we want to press, so he just tried to give me more information straight away. I think it's going to help my development and help me become a better player, so ultimately it's better."
