Liverpool went from cruising to collapsing in the space of 25 second-half minutes, and the football world is still talking about it. Andoni Iraola’s side threw away a two-goal lead to lose 4-2 to Leeds United at Soldier Field in Chicago, closing out both clubs’ United States preseason tour with a result that has raised as many questions as it answered. Here is a full breakdown of how it happened, what it means, and why fans should not panic just yet.
A Blistering First Half From Liverpool
For 45 minutes, this looked like exactly the kind of statement performance Liverpool fans have been craving since Iraola took over from Arne Slot.
Luke Chambers opened the scoring in the seventh minute, finishing off a flicked-on Dominik Szoboszlai corner.
Then, five minutes before the break, Florian Wirtz doubled the lead with a sweeping volley, the product of a slick move started by breakout midfielder Trey Nyoni and finished off by a raking pass from Jeremie Frimpong. With Alexander Isak also making his return to the side, this was arguably Liverpool’s best half of football under their new head coach.
The Collapse That Changed the Narrative
Then everything unraveled. Leeds manager Daniel Farke sent on Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Harry Wilson at halftime, and the substitutions transformed the game. Brenden Aaronson pulled one back to make it 2-1,
before Calvert-Lewin leveled the score after Ethan Ampadu’s long throw caused chaos in the Liverpool box.
Moments later, a mistake from Curtis Jones let Sean Longstaff in to put Leeds ahead entirely. Calvert-Lewin then completed his brace late on, once again capitalizing on an Ampadu long throw, as Liverpool conceded four unanswered goals in barely 25 minutes.
Why This Result Matters More Than a Typical Friendly
It is preseason, and neither club will read too much into a single scoreline. But the pattern is impossible to ignore. Two of Leeds’ four goals came directly from long throws, echoing a weakness that plagued Liverpool defensively last season. Speaking afterward, midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai was blunt about the issue, saying the team conceded from set pieces and needs to fix how they defend them. Iraola made wholesale changes at the break, but the inexperienced backline that finished the match, including Calvin Ramsay and Mor Talla Ndiaye, was picked apart by a Leeds side that smelled blood.
Iraola himself struck a measured tone after the final whistle, calling it “probably the most useful friendly we played,” positive in the first half and negative in the second. He also eased fears over a potential Frimpong injury, saying the Dutch fullback’s withdrawal was down to overload rather than anything serious.
What Comes Next for Liverpool
With the Premier League season fast approaching, this defeat lands at an awkward moment. Liverpool made no incoming signings during their US tour, and Iraola has been candid about the uncertainty hanging over his squad heading into the final weeks of the transfer window. The concerning part is not the scoreline itself, it is the manner of the collapse: mistakes at the back, vulnerability from set pieces, and a squad that looked short on physicality once the changes came.
Still, there were plenty of positives to take from Chicago too, particularly Wirtz and Isak both looking sharp on their returns. For Iraola, the challenge now is turning a chaotic final friendly into a genuine lesson before the real games begin.
