Liverpool suffered a 3-2 defeat to Monaco in their latest pre-season outing.
Alexander Isak scored the first goal of Andoni Iraola’s Anfield bow in the 16th minute, cutting a close-range finish after being teed up by Ryan Gravenberch.
The hosts doubled their lead shortly before the half-hour mark when Florian Wirtz was able to turn the ball home following a goalmouth scramble.
But the Ligue 1 outfit had halved their deficit by half-time as a returning Virgil van Dijk tripped Aleksandr Golovin, who converted from the penalty spot.
They restored parity early in the second half courtesy of Mika Biereth slotting past Giorgi Mamardashvili after the stand-in stopper parried his initial attempt.
Paris Brunner compounded the misery in the final two minutes by heading home from an Anis Soubeir corner to seal victory for Les Monegasques.
The Reds are back on home soil in seven days’ time when they face Serie A’s Como for their final friendly before the new Premier League campaign begins.
Here were the key talking points from Anfield:
Mixed signs on Iraola’s home bow
Andoni Iraola’s honeymoon as Liverpool head coach may not last long at all.
His first outing in front of home fans since succeeding Arne Slot offered the Basque a chance to show what potentially lies ahead in the next nine months.
On the strength of his new charges’ showing against Monaco, the upcoming season is set to be one of archetypal two halves despite their strong start.
The Reds’ defeat to the Ligue 1 outfit followed an identical pattern to last weekend’s loss against Leeds United in Chicago at the end of their US tour.
A commanding two-goal lead was surrendered far too wilfully after the interval; undoing the good work shown during the opening 45 minutes.
Iraola’s brand of football is more attuned to what Liverpool sought as an antidote to the joyless, near-pedestrian dirge surved up by his predecessor.
Yet the trade-off for a return to the Jurgen Klopp-esque pressing matchine of old is a team which, albeit not at full-strength, has a glaring Achilles’ heel.
As opening gambits go, it was imperfect but Iraola has made no secret of a desire to earn his spurs and will have already seen room for improvement.
Still plenty of work for Reds to do
Around the time that his new Liverpool colleagues were taking to the field, Ronald Araujo was putting the finishing touches on an initial loan move.
The Barcelona defender’s arrival will provide fresh relief to a defence which is wrestling with a dearth of options on account of injuries and summer exits.
But there is still plenty of work for the Anfield hierarchy to do to ensure their side is in fighting shape for the Premier League’s opening weekend.
The backline alone is an ongoing source of urgency on account of Jeremy Jacquet’s fitness issues and Ifeanyi Ndukwe’s UK work permit ineligibility.
Beyond that, Mohamed Salah’s long-term successor is conspicuous by their absence with a 20-year-old Lewis Koumas tasked with filling the interim void.
Bradley Barcola’s potential addition should go some way to fixing although negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain are yet to get fully off the ground.
Kopites will be watching with anticipation how owners Fenway Sports Group address the current inadequacies that will make or break Liverpool’s season.
Is the writing on the wall for Jones?
Curtis Jones was a notable omission from Sunday’s matchday squad amid ongoing uncertainty over the homegrown midfielder’s immediate future.
Jones cut a frustrated figure during Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States, infamously becoming embroiled in an on-field row with teammates.
The Toxteth native clashed with Dominik Szoboszlai following the 1-0 win over Wrexham in New York over an apparent dispute over the captain’s armband.
Inter Milan continue to retain an interest in Jones despite their renewed efforts continuing to fall short of the club’s £35 million valuation for the player.
Iraola is keen on keeping the academy graduate and his omission against Monaco was attributed to a precautionary move rather than anything else.
However the writing appears to be on the wall for Jones’ Anfield career and it feels increasingly a case of when – not if – he is finally allowed to depart.