Gomez injury leaves Liverpool with teenage centre-back pairing in Iraola's first match

Joe Gomez limped off after 10 minutes of Liverpool's 4-1 friendly win over Sunderland in Nashville, leaving two 18-year-olds — Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe — as the central defensive pairing. With Ibrahima Konate gone to Real Madrid, Giovanni Leoni recovering from an ACL injury, and £55m signing Jeremy Jacquet not carrying the burden, Iraola's defensive options are already stretched.