Andoni Iraola's Liverpool tenure at Anfield began with a warning sign, as his side squandered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to Monaco in a pre-season friendly, exposing defensive issues that dogged the club last season. It was Liverpool's second consecutive friendly defeat following a loss to Leeds, and comes amid frustration over slow transfer activity, with reinforcements such as Ronald Araújo yet to arrive.

Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz scored in a bright first half, but Monaco hit back through an Aleksandr Golovin penalty before completing the comeback after the break, as wholesale changes left Liverpool "tired" and unable to sustain their level, according to Iraola. The head coach said fitness doubts kept Jérémy Jacquet and Curtis Jones out of contention, while Kostas Tsimikas, back from a loan at Roma, and academy prospects Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Lewis Koumas featured among a largely strong starting XI.