Liverpool suffered another pre-season collapse as Monaco came from two goals down to win 3-2 in Andoni Iraola’s first game in charge at Anfield.
The Reds appeared to be heading towards a comfortable victory after Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz put them in control, but a dramatic second half saw Monaco turn the game around.
Isak and Wirtz put Liverpool in command
Liverpool started brightly and established a two-goal advantage through their high-profile summer arrivals.
Isak opened the scoring before Wirtz added a second, giving the home side a strong platform and offering supporters another glimpse of the attacking quality available to Iraola.
However, Liverpool’s inability to protect a lead once again became a major talking point.
The collapse was particularly concerning because the Reds suffered a similar setback in their previous pre-season outing against Leeds.
Liverpool were also two goals ahead in Chicago before conceding four times to lose 4-2.
Monaco complete another comeback
Monaco began their comeback when Aleksandr Golovin converted from the penalty spot to reduce the deficit.
Mika Biereth then levelled the contest before Paris Brunner completed the turnaround with a late header.
The defeat means Iraola’s first match at Anfield ends in disappointment, although the Liverpool manager made wholesale changes during the second half as he prioritised giving his squad valuable minutes.
Iraola introduced an entirely different team after the interval, disrupting the flow of the match but allowing several players to gain much-needed fitness ahead of the new campaign.
Among those introduced was new signing Victor Munoz, who made his first appearance for Liverpool following his summer move.
Despite the result, the match provided Iraola with another opportunity to assess his squad before the competitive season begins.
However, the repeated problems with surrendering leads will be a concern. Liverpool have now thrown away two-goal advantages in consecutive pre-season matches, giving Iraola plenty to work on before the start of the campaign.