You could call it a “tale of two halves,” if you wanted to be polite, about Liverpool blowing a 2-0 lead, en route to losing 4-2 at the hands of Leeds United. Yes, it was only a friendly, so you don’t want to read too much into it, but make no mistake about it, the Reds looked dreadfully awful in the second half today at Soldier Field in Chicago. Which was ironic, given how overly dominant they looked in the first half. Seriously, this was night and day, black and whirte, 1/x and x/1. Well, at least fullback Jeremie Frimpong is apparently ok.
And that is always the most important thing with friendlies- try to avoid injuries.
Frimpong left limping, in the 77′, which ignited injury fears. While he did leave under his own power, it was still obvious that he was struggling with something.
Manager Andoni Iraola did not meet with reporters postgame, nor did he do a post-match press conference.
He did provide an update on Frimpong to the club’s in-house media however.
“Jeremie asked for the sub; I don’t think it is an injury,” Iraola said to LFCTV. “I think it was just an overload and I think he is not injured. In that way, I don’t think we have lost anyone.”
Media access was severely limited at this match, the finale of Liverpool’s USA tour.
Only two players, Milos Kerkez and Lewis Koumas (who is so far down the depth chart right now that he’ll likely spend the upcoming season out on loan) fully met with the media.
Dominic Szoboszlai was made available to UK media only, but with no photo or video.
Liverpool record transfer fee signing Alexander Isak talked to the media after the match, only in Swedish.
Basically he just said he was feeling fine, 100% fit. That was the gist of it.
Cc @stueyissickofit pic.twitter.com/OptSb7q1Lh— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) August 2, 2026
Alexander Isak did a Swedish only interview, with one outlet, and that was it. Nothing else. Nothing at all.
Unless you count former Liverpool player Harry Wilson (now with Leeds obviously), who met with reporters for a decent amount of time.
The Redmen did a fantastic job making the best of the very limited amount of access that we had.
Watch that below:
One of the bright spots today was Florian Wirtz. He came straight into the first team, after completing his post World Cup break, and scored.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.