Liverpool
Van Dijk: Liverpool Must Fix Habit of Failing to Follow Up Strong Performances
Van Dijk urges change as Liverpool struggle for consistency and face a tense run to secure top four.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk delivered a clear warning after a damaging league defeat that followed a 4–0 midweek victory over Galatasaray. The sequence encapsulated the Reds’ defining problem this season: an inability to follow one good display with another.
“I said over the last months the same thing: We can’t build on a good performance,” Van Dijk said after the defeat. “That is something that has to change if we are to achieve what we are trying to achieve, and that is Champions League football.”
Van Dijk made the point that responsibility lies with the players. “It’s down to us and so we have to do it as players, as a group. If we change that, then obviously we can be a very dangerous force, but at the moment, we are not.”
That inconsistency helps explain why Liverpool sit fifth in the Premier League this season. The campaign has been affected by a slow start for blockbuster summer signings, a mountain of injuries and Mohamed Salah’s poor form. Yet the most troubling symptom remains how quickly the team can switch from confident, dominant performances to matches in which the side looks uncreative and vulnerable.
Recent months have offered repeated examples: commanding victories followed by baffling defeats. The club has collected just one point out of a possible nine in March, leaving a fraught final two months as Liverpool attempt to hold off Chelsea for the fifth and presumed final Champions League spot for English clubs next season.
Injuries are compounding the problem. Alexander Isak, Wataru Endō, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni are long-term absentees. Mohamed Salah is nursing a muscular injury, Alisson is out for the foreseeable future, Hugo Ekitiké was forced off after eight minutes at the Amex Stadium and Federico Chiesa withdrew from Italy’s squad for the international break.
Losing Ekitiké at the weekend was notable in the context of the side’s attacking options. “When Hugo comes off, and you look at the team, there was not a lot of runs in behind,” Van Dijk explained.
The message from the captain was unambiguous: the pattern cannot continue if Liverpool are to reach their stated objective of Champions League football.
Liverpool
Chiesa embraces Liverpool reset as Iraola considers new role
Chiesa says he is committed to Liverpool and open to a striker role under Iraola in pre
Federico Chiesa has made clear that he remains fully committed to Liverpool, despite talk of a possible summer exit and renewed interest in a return to Italy. The forward, who has become a favourite with supporters, says he is focused on proving himself again under Andoni Iraola and welcomes the chance of a fresh beginning, even if it comes in an unfamiliar role.
Speaking after Liverpool’s 4-2 friendly win over Sunderland in Nashville, Chiesa explained that his discussions with Iraola have centred on the basics of the manager’s approach. “The only conversations I had [with Iraola] were about pressing and tactics,” said Chiesa after Liverpool’s recent 4–2 friendly win over Sunderland in Nashville . “So I don’t know [about the future], it is difficult to say. It is always a fresh start at the beginning of the year. Maybe there have been too many fresh starts.
“But I don’t care, I am trying to do my best for this new manager. Last season under Arne Slot, I was trying to do my best.
“Right now, at the moment, I am happy here at Liverpool. I love the club, I love the fans, I love everything. I am doing the best I can to have a chance here. And then we will see. At the minute, the only thing I am thinking about is Liverpool.”
That message came alongside an encouraging on-field display. Chiesa played as a lone striker in the second half of Iraola’s first match in charge, scored in the victory, and later played a part in Lewis Koumas’s late goal.
Although he has built his career as a winger, Chiesa confirmed that Iraola sees him as an option up front. “He put me [at] striker today and he wants me there. I have played my whole career as a winger but I am happy to play striker as well,” said the Italy international.
Liverpool’s attacking resources have been stretched. Mohamed Salah has left, Hugo Ekitiké is facing a long absence after rupturing his Achilles, and the squad remains short of options in the final third. Víctor Muñoz has arrived, but the 23-year-old will need time to adapt. That leaves Cody Gakpo, Rio Ngumoha, Alexander Isak and Chiesa as the club’s only out-and-out forwards, with Isak the only natural striker currently fit.
Liverpool
Liverpool’s defensive depth tested early as Joe Gomez injury compounds Iraola concerns
Joe Gomez’s early injury has left Liverpool short at the back as Iraola manages a very thin squad.
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.
Arsenal
Premier League clubs step up 2026/27 preseason with fixtures spread across the world
Premier League clubs are spread across Europe, Asia and the US in a busy 2026/27 preseason.
With the World Cup having only recently concluded, Premier League clubs are already deep into their 2026/27 preseason programmes. The calendar is tight, the travel is heavy and the purpose is clear: get players ready, test combinations and give new faces a chance to make an early impression.
Arsenal, the reigning champions, are among the later starters. Their first friendly comes on Aug. 1 against Girona in Catalonia, before further meetings with Real Betis, Borussia Dortmund and Como. They will then face Manchester City in the Community Shield at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
Aston Villa have already opened with a 5-0 win over Walsall and continue across Europe and Asia, while Bournemouth began with a 4-1 victory against St. Pauli. Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion both have short schedules remaining, with each taking on European opposition in mid-August.
Chelsea’s first run under new manager Xabi Alonso takes them to Australia for matches against Western Sydney Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur, before trips through Hong Kong, Jakarta and Malaysia. Their final friendly is against Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge.
Elsewhere, Everton have mixed early results and face a demanding route through Scotland, Germany and home soil before meeting Lille. Fulham also have work to do after a behind-closed-doors defeat to Norwich City. Hull City, Ipswich Town and Coventry City all have their own preparations mapped out, while Crystal Palace have already played twice and continue with fixtures in Italy and Germany.
Liverpool’s schedule includes a United States tour against Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds United, followed by Monaco and two games against Como on Aug. 16. Manchester City are taking a lighter approach, starting with Inter in Hong Kong before facing the K-League All-Stars, Atlético Madrid and Arsenal. Manchester United, meanwhile, have already lost to Wrexham and beaten Rosenborg 5-0, with Atlético Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Leeds United and Milan still to come.
Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur also remain busy, with each club using these final weeks to sharpen up before the league begins.
