Liverpool’s last full training week of their USA trip opened with a clear message: the team is close to Sunday’s meeting with Leeds, but not everyone is ready in the same way. At the performance centre of Chicago Fire, Andoni Iraola pushed players through high-intensity drills while Liverpool managed fitness, recovery and a few lingering selection calls.
That is why the search around Liverpool Vs Leeds has sharpened today. Liverpool are at the end of their pre-season tour in the USA, and the final session before Sunday carried more weight than a routine workout. Robert Lewandowski, 37, was taking penalties in the background as Liverpool’s session began, and the detail underlined how much attention was on two teams using the same space for very different purposes.
The first signs from the session were encouraging for Liverpool. Alexander Isak was back in training this week after missing the trip to New York, and Florian Wirtz and Ryan Gravenberch were also expected to be in line for Sunday after their absence from that journey. The club has been trying to balance sharpness with caution, and this was the first open look at how far that process has gone.
Some of the clearest pictures came from the side rather than the main drill. Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas walked out together in good spirits, trading keepy-uppies and jokes after the video that showed a heated argument between them earlier in the week. Szoboszlai later said they had been “were in the same boat,” and the sight of the three moving together again suggested the dispute had already been left behind before Friday’s session got going.
There was still real caution around the squad. Jeremy Jacquet missed training and worked in the gym while Liverpool continued his recovery from a shoulder injury sustained in February, leaving him a doubt for the weekend. Joe Gomez was also in the gym and has already been ruled out for the start of the Premier League season. Liverpool may be close to the end of this trip, but not every player is close to the same finish line.
On the grass, Iraola’s language was simple and relentless. He kept calling for players to “play in possession” and to move “quicker, quicker” during drills, a sharp reminder that pre-season is still about timing as much as fitness. Liverpool beat Wrexham 1-0 on Wednesday in their second pre-season fixture, and the open session suggested the group is being pushed to find rhythm before the tests get more serious.
The unanswered question is no longer whether Liverpool will be ready to play Leeds on Sunday. It is how many of the returning names will actually make it onto the pitch, and whether the players still being handled carefully can be risked when the final game of the USA trip arrives.
