Liverpool 4-2 Sunderland: Nashville Sees Six-Goal Preseason Showdown

Liverpool and Sunderland opened the preseason in Nashville, TN, in front of just shy of 25,000 fans at GEODIS Park, where the Reds topped the Black Cats, 4-2.

The match marked the start of the Andoni Iraola era at Liverpool. Before joining Liverpool, Iraola led Bournemouth to a berth in the UEFA Europa League after guiding the club to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League, their highest finish ever.

The friendly was missing plenty of stars from both sides, with several players away on extended leave after the World Cup.

Liverpool got off to a difficult start when captain Joe Gomez went down and had to be substituted in the 10th minute. However, the Reds quickly settled in, taking the lead in the 13th minute on a goal from Kieran Morrison.

The excitement was short-lived, though, as Sunderland’s Enzo Le Fée found the back of the net in the 28th minute. Timur Tuterov then gave the Black Cats the lead with a goal in the 49th minute.

It wasn’t long before Iraola’s side took control. Dominik Szoboszlai equalized in the 56th minute, Federico Chiesa put Liverpool ahead in the 72nd, and Lewis Koumas capped off the comeback with a final goal in the 85th minute.

Liverpool ultimately walked away with a 4-2 victory to open the preseason in Nashville. Both sides will continue their respective U.S. preseason tours, which conclude on August 2nd, before returning home to begin their Premier League campaigns on August 22nd and 23rd.