Three Takeaways From Liverpool’s Collapse Against Leeds in Preseason Friendly

Liverpool ended its U.S. preseason tour on a sour note, falling 4–2 to longtime, bitter rival Leeds United in Sunday’s friendly at Soldier Field in Chicago. It marked just the second time since 2001 that Leeds defeated the Merseyside club.

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The Reds entered the half up by two and confident in their ability to leave the States with three-straight wins to start the new season and new era under manager Andoni Iraola. The Whites, however, had a plan of their own, scoring four goals in the second half, including the first three all within less than 15 minutes. Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored a brace off of nearly identical long-throw plays into the box, leaving Liverpool utterly deflated and questioning their ability to learn from their mistakes.

Liverpool fans will take solace in the fact that it was a meaningless clash; however, it left several things to be addressed. Here are three takeaways from Liverpool’s collapse in Chicago.

Florian Wirtz Is Rewriting His Script

Florian Wirtz returned to Liverpool for his second season with a point to prove and a script to rewrite.

He floundered in his debut year at Anfield, pegged a “waste of money” after failing to live up to his lofty $156 million (£116 million) billing. He even admitted back in May that “the season hadn’t gone as planned.” The German attacker was only met with more disappointment this summer at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as Die Mannschaft suffered an early exit after a shock loss to Paraguay in the round of 32. Although Wirtz had three assists across North America, it wasn’t enough to spark life into Germany and pull the nation out of its recent tournament slump.

Wirtz left all of that in the past, though, earning the start on Sunday and dazzling in his first outing with the Reds of the new season and the first under new manager Iraola. Should Wirtz continue to perform the way he did across his 45 minutes at Soldier Field, he will no longer be considered a “waste of money” but rather, the key to Liverpool’s return to the Premier League crown.

What aided Wirtz’s success was that Iraola actually played him in his proper position, the No. 10 spot. Although it took him a few minutes to settle back into game speed, the 23-year-old looked natural and comfortable in the attacking midfield role. His runs were dynamic, yielding space throughout the center of the pitch, and his creativity was on full display. It was no surprise when the playmaker landed in the perfect position inside the box to receive a cross from Jeremie Frimpong and fire a shot past goalkeeper Alex Cairns, capping off the ultimate team goal and bringing Liverpool two ahead by the interval.

Iraola will be pleased not only with Wirtz, but also himself for optimizing Wirtz’s abilities off the bat. “We need a very good version of Florian,” the new manager had said prior to the friendly. “We know what he can give us. I think he’s also suited to our game model.”

“I see him more probably in that position behind the striker,” he added. “We know that he has played with Germany more on the left sometimes. But, I think we’re going to start working with him in that position behind the striker.”

Young Talents Give Mixed Performance

Iraola continually experimented with his young stars in the preseason matches, and for the most part, they proved their worth. 19-year-old Trey Nyoni, who put together high-quality technical performances against both Sunderland and Wrexham from the holding midfield position, once again made his mark on Sunday in a first half showing.

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Nyoni, who was included in the starting lineup, instigated the buildup for Wirtz’s goal, spotting Frimpong open on the opposite wing before dishing him a perfectly-placed lofted ball. Frimpong needed just a single touch to find Wirtz running into the box. The teenager’s outstanding showing in the U.S. may be enough to stake his claim to a spot in the first team.

Contrastingly, 18-year-old center back Ifeanyi Ndukwe looked unconfident and indecisive against Leeds, despite impressing on the backline against Wrexham. The Reds got burned twice on long-throw plays into their defensive box, and although Ndukwe didn’t technically lose his mark on either one, the 6’6″ center back should have been the one commanding the defensive operation and ensuring that the ball was cleared. Instead, he looked timid and uncertain, as did the rest of the Liverpool players. Perhaps, he is not quite ready to be the commanding center back the first team will need off the bench. Regardless, the Austrian player won’t be able to play for Liverpool next season due to work permit issues.

18-year-old center back Mor Talla Ndiaye, who came on for Luke Chambers in the second half, likewise struggled to hold down the fort, raising questions about Liverpool’s defensive depth.

Missed Opportunity for Liverpool

Through the first half, it looked as if Liverpool would be leaving the U.S. on cloud nine, with a perfect preseason start and an unbeaten record for Iraola; however, now the Reds board the plane home with a bitter taste in their mouths and several daunting questions. For one, does everyone on Liverpool’s backline have depth perception problems? Both of Leeds’ long-ball goals suggested as much, given no defender was even remotely close to making contact with the ball aerially. Also, if midfielder Curtis Jones wanted to ball watch all game, why didn’t he just buy a ticket? More seriously though, Liverpool will need to evaluate its defensive positioning on set-pieces and second defender tactics.

The loss isn’t detrimental, given it was just a preseason friendly, and the team may be keen to just point the finger at a whole slew of substitutions made just minutes before Leeds’ resurgence, which left two teenage center backs in charge. Nevertheless, the comeback loss exposed several concerns, including the lack of depth in said center back position. Iraola will feel fortunate he has plenty of time to address them.

Next up, Liverpool faces Monaco in a friendly next Sunday at Anfield. They kick off the regular season against Newcastle on August 23 at St. James’ Park.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Three Takeaways From Liverpool’s Collapse Against Leeds in Preseason Friendly.

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This story was originally published August 2, 2026 at 4:20 PM.