Premier League
By Staff Writer — 1 August 2026
Liverpool finish their pre-season tour of the USA against Leeds on Sunday
As Liverpool’s first open training session under Andoni Iraola began, Robert Lewandowski was taking penalties in the background.
The session took place at the performance centre of Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire, where the 37-year-old Pole now plays.
Under gloomy skies, Lewandowski blazed a spot-kick over the bar as Fire’s training session came to an end and Iraola’s got under way.
Here is what we learned from Liverpool’s session.
Earlier this week, a video was posted on social media of Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones - who has been linked with a move to Inter Milan - having a heated argument at the end of Liverpool’s win over Wrexham on Wednesday.
Asked about the situation on Thursday, Szoboszlai played it down, insisting all the players “were in the same boat” in terms of wanting the best for the club and each other.
Regardless, Szoboszlai, Jones and Kostas Tsimikas, who was also in the clip, walked out together in good spirits, doing keepy-uppies and joking with each other right in front of the cameras.
All smiles, to say the least.
The argument was understood to be related to the fact that Szoboszlai had given Tsimikas the captain’s armband instead of Jones but, by Friday, it seemed to have settled.
A little bit of passion is never a bad thing in an elite sporting environment but, with the way footage can be captured from anyone inside a stadium, sometimes it is better to keep things behind closed doors.
It was far from ideal - and it served as a reminder for Iraola that he must appoint a vice-captain soon, with the vacancy open after Andy Robertson’s departure.
Record signing Alexander Isak also returned to Liverpool training this week.
He, Florian Wirtz and Ryan Gravenberch all missed the trip to New York, where Liverpool beat Wrexham 1-0 in their second pre-season fixture, but are expected to feature on Sunday against Leeds.
Jeremy Jacquet missed training but was in the gym as the club carefully manage his recovery from the shoulder injury he sustained in February.
The centre-back is a doubt for the weekend, despite Iraola suggesting earlier in the week that he would feature.
Joe Gomez, who has been ruled out for the start of the Premier League season, was also in the gym.
Once the warm-ups were done, the intensity in Iraola’s drills was clear to see. He likes to get heavily involved and was particularly animated, using phrases like “play in possession” and “quicker, quicker” repeatedly.
There were celebrations between players whenever they scored in the mini-drills and the atmosphere was generally positive, with Iraola unafraid to step in and point out something, or discuss a player’s position.
The squad then separated, with one group moving on to a smaller pitch for a nine-a-side match while another group worked on set-pieces with Iraola’s assistants, Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper.
Wirtz was on corner duty, while Elphick even put on a bib to get involved.
Watching on was Mike Gordon, the Fenway Sports Group president, who is now overseeing Liverpool operations again. He is expected to be at the game on Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Liverpool had a team dinner on Thursday evening, with Iraola sharing a beer with the likes of Phil Thompson and Robbie Fowler after.
Thompson told BBC Sport they spoke about a number of things, from the season ahead to their families.
Iraola was not even born when former defender Thompson won the third of his three European Cups for Liverpool. But this was a sign of the new head coach recognising the legends of the club and the weight they still carry.
Iraola still has three weeks before his first Premier League game as Liverpool manager - but the seeds of his tenure are getting planted here in the Windy City.
