Liverpool began the Andoni Iraola era with an entertaining 4-2 victory over Sunderland in their opening pre-season friendly in the United States, although the win was overshadowed by an early injury to Joe Gomez.
Goals from Kieran Morrison, Dominik Szoboszlai, Federico Chiesa and Lewis Koumas secured a winning start for the Reds, but Gomez's exit after just eight minutes highlighted Liverpool's defensive concerns.
The experienced defender, who started as captain and at centre-back, was forced off with an injury, leaving Iraola frustrated after an otherwise positive start to pre-season.
"The worst news was the injury to Joe," Iraola said after the match.
"We had come through training without losing any players, so it's disappointing to lose him straight away."
The Liverpool boss also confirmed that summer signing Jeremy Jacquet was left out as a precaution after spending several months on the sidelines.
"We decided to be careful with Jeremy," Iraola explained.
"He's training well, but he'll probably play in the final game of the tour."
With Virgil van Dijk still on extended leave following the Netherlands' World Cup campaign and Giovanni Leoni continuing his recovery from a serious ACL injury, Liverpool were forced to rely on teenage defenders Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe.
Both 18-year-olds made their senior debuts and impressed despite the circumstances, but their inclusion further emphasized Liverpool's lack of experienced options at the back.
Iraola admitted earlier in the week that his squad is "very thin" defensively, and Gomez's injury only reinforced that concern.
There were plenty of positives going forward, however, as 19-year-old Kieran Morrison opened the scoring with a composed left-footed finish after an excellent run and assist from Harvey Elliott, who was making his first appearance since returning from a loan spell at Aston Villa.
Sunderland responded through Enzo Le Fee before Timur Tutierov put the Black Cats ahead, exposing defensive frailties that Iraola will be eager to address.
Liverpool hit back after the break, with Szoboszlai producing a stunning long-range strike to level the score at 2-2 shortly after coming on and taking over the captain's armband.
Fan favourite Federico Chiesa then put the Reds back in front with a clinical finish after a superb pass from Calvin Ramsay, before Lewis Koumas sealed the victory late on.
Sixteen-year-old Josh Abe also caught the eye on his senior debut, producing an impressive run in the build-up to Koumas' goal and offering another glimpse of Liverpool's promising academy talent.
Although Liverpool's pressing showed encouraging signs under their new manager, Iraola acknowledged that his side remains a work in progress after conceding two avoidable goals.
"It doesn't matter the result," he said.
"Keep pushing, don't relax and don't get used to playing too comfortably. We still have a lot of things to improve."
Liverpool now return to their training base in Chicago, where Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Ryan Gravenberch have joined the squad ahead of preparations for Thursday's friendly against Wrexham in New York.
