Liverpool 1-0 Wrexham: Andoni Iraola secures back-to-back wins as new Reds boss in pre-season thanks to Rio Ngumoha | Football News

July 30, 2026 4 Min Read

Liverpool continued their winning start to life under Andoni Iraola by beating Wrexham 1-0 in their second pre-season contest ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.

The Reds had already beaten Sunderland in Nashville before making the trip to Yankee Stadium in New York to face a stern test, with their opposition having already bested both Manchester United and Leeds in recent weeks.

Stand-in captain Dominik Szoboszlai was forced to play centre-back following the injury to Joe Gomez against the Black Cats. He was still involved in Liverpool’s best chance in the first half, picking out Harvey Elliott, who would then set up Josh Abe for a shot kept out by former Reds goalkeeper Danny Ward.

Iraola made four changes at the break, one of those being the introduction of Rio Ngumoha. The teenage sensation proved the difference-maker, driving at the heart of the Wrexham defence before his deflected effort looped into the back of the net for the sole goal of the game 15 minutes from time.

Kieffer Moore did waste a good chance for Wrexham in the latter stages, fluffing his lines from close range, but Liverpool held on to make it two wins from two in the United States.

The squad will travel to Chicago ahead of their next game against Leeds on Sunday, when the likes of Florian Wirtz, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexander Isak are expected to get their first minutes of pre-season.

Iraola: Liverpool still not showing my identity

Speaking with the club’s media post-match, Iraola said his side still had some way to go to adapt to his style ahead of the new season.

“I think overall we were more solid than the other day,” he said. “It was a different kind of game. The pitch is quite narrow and there are not a lot of spaces. But, I think we had good spells. And even if the other day we scored more goals and it looked nicer, I think today we were more a team and more collective.

“I think we’re still not there [showing his identity]. We sometimes arrive too late, but I think it’s a step forward, since especially the first half against Sunderland.

“That is more of a reference than the second half. Slowly, I hope every game we are closer and closer. We start to add new bodies, because now we are playing with a lot of the young players. We have to add the senior players that are starting to train with us, so we can arrive to the beginning of the season in a good place.”

Wirtz, Gravenberch and Isak set to feature vs Leeds

Iraola also confirmed plans to use some of his biggest players when the Reds face Leeds in their final game of the American tour on Sunday.

The trio of Wirtz, Gravenberch and Isak have already begun their pre-season training in Chicago following early exits from the World Cup, and will be joined by the rest of their team-mates.

When asked if there was a chance Reds fans could see them in action – as well as new signing Jeremy Jacquet – Iraola responded: “Yes, my idea is for Ryan [Gravenberch], for Florian [Wirtz], for Alex [Isak], for even Jacquet to have their first minutes against Leeds.

“We’ll see how many minutes they can play, but we have to start slowly integrating more of the senior players that have had less training sessions. I think they should be ready on the weekend to have their first minutes.”