Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool tenure has begun under strain after Joe Gomez was forced off inside 10 minutes of the Reds’ preseason opener against Sunderland.

The setback immediately tightened an already limited defensive pool, with Iraola making clear how quickly the situation turned. “Probably the worst news has been straight away the injury of Joe,” Iraola reflected after the game.

He added: “We were happy because we were kind of going through all the training without losing any player. Unluckily for us, straight away we’ve lost Joe.”

Gomez’s departure left 18-year-old Ifeanyi Ndukwe to step in, with no other senior alternatives available on the day. That reality now leaves Iraola facing the rest of the preseason tour, and possibly the opening of the new season, with very little margin for error at the back.

Liverpool’s situation is complicated further by the absence of Virgil van Dijk, who has not travelled to the U.S. as he continues to rest after the World Cup. Giovanni Leoni is also still working through the final stages of recovery from an ACL injury, while summer signing Jérémy Jacquet was not included in the matchday squad on Saturday despite having been training with the group for weeks.

Liverpool paid around $80 million (£60 million) to secure Jacquet in early February, then allowed him to complete the season with Rennes. He played only two more times before a season-ending shoulder injury, and Iraola later said the 21-year-old is still not quite ready.

“With Jeremy, we decided to take it easy with him,” Iraola explained. “He has been a lot of months without playing with a shoulder injury. So, I think we are going to take it easy with him.

“He will play probably the last game of this U.S. tour and he will have time to have minutes. It’s true that we were kind of happy but we’ve lost one now.”

Iraola had already described his squad as “very thin” and pointed to issues at both right back and centre back. On paper, Liverpool list four senior centre backs, but the current availability picture tells a different story, with Leoni not yet back in team training and Jacquet still needing time to build toward full readiness.

Chelsea are reportedly closing in on the appointment of Austin MacPhee, who is expected to join Xabi Alonso’s coaching setup before the 2026-27 season begins.

MacPhee is set to leave Aston Villa after five seasons and step into the set-piece coach role at Chelsea, taking over from Bernardo Cueva. Cueva will remain part of Alonso’s staff, although in a behind-the-scenes capacity.

The move highlights how far the game has shifted. Set-piece coaching is no longer a detail tucked away on a staff chart. In modern soccer, dead-ball situations now carry major weight, with some teams placing them alongside, or even above, open-play structure as a route to goals.

What once passed almost unnoticed is now treated as a core part of club planning. Specialists in this area can shape results, and Chelsea appear to have targeted one of the most respected names in that field.

MacPhee’s work at Aston Villa made the club one of the most dangerous set-piece sides in Europe. His methods were described as innovative, creative and lethal, giving Unai Emery’s attack an added threat from dead-ball situations.

The numbers support that reputation. Villa scored 29 set-piece goals last season, the joint-most in Europe’s top-five leagues alongside Arsenal. Chelsea, by comparison, scored 21.

In a sport where efficiency from set pieces can be decisive, Chelsea are strengthening a department that has become increasingly important across the game.

If MacPhee does arrive, it will be the third separate piece of business between Chelsea and Aston Villa during the summer transfer window. Earlier in the month, Chelsea made attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers the most expensive British player in history, paying a club-record $157.3 million (£117 million) to sign the England international from Villa.

Liverpool opened the Andoni Iraola era with a 4-2 win over Sunderland in their preseason opener on Saturday, a result that offered early encouragement and a few familiar concerns.

The Reds struck first in a move that summed up Iraola’s approach, moving from deep to the final third in only four passes. James McConnell was involved in the build-up before Kieran Morrison finished neatly into the far corner after cutting in from the right.

After the restart, though, Jeremie Frimpong was caught in possession near his own penalty area and Sunderland punished the mistake through Timur Tuterov. Liverpool responded quickly, with Dominik Szoboszlai levelling less than 10 minutes later after collecting a rebound and drilling a strike from outside the area past Melker Ellborg.

From there, Liverpool took control. Federico Chiesa added the third, and Lewis Koumas completed the scoring late on. The final goal was another example of the vertical, direct pattern Iraola wants, with the ball moved quickly from midfield into a dangerous attacking position before Koumas finished calmly.

There was plenty of evidence of a side trying to press high and recover the ball aggressively, but the risks of that approach were also exposed. When the press was bypassed, Liverpool could be opened up in transition, and Sunderland found space to create their second goal.

One of the biggest negatives came early when Joe Gomez went down with an apparent muscular issue and had to be withdrawn. He has continued to struggle with availability, having played just over 2,000 minutes across the last two seasons and missed more than 30 games through injury. He was replaced by 18-year-old Ifeanyi Ndukwe.

With several senior players still away or only just returning to fitness, the match also gave younger players a chance to stand out. Morrison impressed alongside Rio Ngumoha, while McConnell was influential before his costly turnover. Trey Nyoni was perhaps the most eye-catching after the break, leading the match in defensive contributions and chance creation.

It was not a flawless start, but it was a clear one.