Leeds United came from two goals down at half-time to beat Liverpool 4-2 in a pre-season friendly at Soldier Field in Chicago, scoring four times in the second half to stun Andoni Iraola's side.
Liverpool dominated the first 45 minutes and led 2-0 at the break, with a goal from Chambers in the seventh minute followed by a finish from Florian Wirtz in the 40th minute. The returning Alexander Isak played alongside Wirtz and young players Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni as Liverpool controlled the opening period.
Leeds score four times after the break
Leeds turned the game around after half-time. Aaronson pulled a goal back in the 60th minute, before Dominic Calvert-Lewin equalised in the 71st minute. Two minutes later Longstaff put Leeds ahead, and Calvert-Lewin added a fourth in the 85th minute to complete the comeback. Six minutes of stoppage time were played, but the score stayed at 4-2 in Leeds' favour.
Isak and Wirtz impress before the break
Daily Mail Sport's Lewis Steele, reporting from Soldier Field, said Wirtz took his goal nicely and also played some gasp-inducing passes, while Isak seemed to be full of confidence, adding that the second-half fall-off showed their importance. Steele noted Isak was involved in almost every attack, pulling the strings and making good runs, even though he did not score. Wirtz, after a slow start, showed his quality with line-breaking passes through the Leeds defence before finishing his own goal.
Set-pieces punish Liverpool's defence
Steele wrote that when Wirtz, Isak, Ngumoha and Nyoni went off, Liverpool had nothing going forward, while the half-time introductions of Calvert-Lewin and Wilson gave Leeds the spark that had been missing. He said two Hail Mary-style throw-ins propelled Leeds to victory, pointing to shrewd runs off the ball from Calvert-Lewin and abysmal defending from Liverpool. Steele added that it does not help that several senior defenders are injured, with Jeremie Frimpong limping off in the second half. Frimpong's issue leaves Liverpool with the fifth absence in the back four, alongside Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley, Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni, all out, with captain Virgil van Dijk not on the trip at all.
Calvert-Lewin's set-piece threat
Leeds' fourth goal, scored by Calvert-Lewin, came from another set piece that Liverpool could not deal with, extending a pattern of the striker causing the club problems from dead-ball situations.
Farke's half-time turnaround
Leeds manager Daniel Farke spent 23 minutes speaking to his players at half-time after a woeful first-half display. Following a series of changes, Leeds kept the same back-five system but looked a completely different side, dominating the second period. Steele said Farke had been sleep-walking towards the sack as Christmas approached last season, with Leeds in the relegation zone after a run of six defeats in seven games. He said Farke then switched to a back five, and from December 1 onwards Leeds lost only six of their next 25 matches and reached an FA Cup semi-final.
The result leaves Iraola with plenty to think about before the new Premier League season, with his side's second-half display and defensive injury list both areas of concern.
