Milos Kerkez Thrives Under Iraola's Aggressive Tactics

Milos Kerkez walked off the Anfield pitch with tired legs and a wide grin. Ninety minutes in the tank, a clean sheet on the board, and a familiar voice back in his ear.

Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Como to close out pre-season was routine enough on the scoreboard. For Kerkez, it felt like the start of something very different.

Kerkez unleashed under Iraola

Twelve months ago, the Hungarian arrived for £40m from Bournemouth and found himself navigating a new club, a new expectation level and, under Arne Slot, a more measured role. Now he has his old boss back – and his old licence to attack.

“It's a big difference, obviously,” Kerkez said after the game, asked how life under Andoni Iraola compares. You could see it in his game long before he said it.

Liverpool pressed high, defended on the halfway line and asked their full-backs to live on the edge. Kerkez thrived. He overlapped relentlessly, hit the byline, and kept shovelling crosses into the box.

“You can see I have more freedom to fly up and down,” he said. “I'm really running more, with more freedom, putting more balls into boxes.”

This is the version of Kerkez Iraola first trusted at Bournemouth, where the pair spent two seasons together. That relationship now gives Liverpool a head start in understanding the new manager’s ferocious demands.

“We play really aggressive. We need to run a lot more,” Kerkez explained. “It is good. It is tough, but if you want to compete at the top, you need to do that in the Champions League, the Premier League.

“The manager gave me confidence when I was in Bournemouth. We all have to do what he tells us to do. Play aggressive, front-foot, so we need to continue.”

Legs burning, mindset sharp

This was Kerkez’s first full 90 minutes of the summer. The fatigue hit late on, but that was the point.

“I felt a bit in the legs at, I would say 70, 70-something (minutes), but it's good to get the whole 90 minutes today,” he said.

Liverpool didn’t just need a win; they needed the rhythm and hardness that only minutes bring. Como were beaten 2-0, Alisson kept his goal intact, and the back line banked a confidence-boosting shutout.

“We needed to get the win today, to get that positive mentality going into the next week,” Kerkez said. “So, we did good, clean sheet – good for the defenders – and, yeah, we're happy.

“We have still some work to do to be more defensively set up. More help from the wingers, but it's going to come next week.”

That last line mattered. Iraola’s Liverpool are clearly not the finished article. The press will need tightening, the distances between units shrinking. But the intent is already unmistakable.

“A lot of guys needed 90 today,” Kerkez added. “Need to be ready for Premier League intensity next week. You know how it is, especially Newcastle away, so it was good that a lot of guys got 90 minutes, definitely.”

Eyes on Newcastle and a different stage

Newcastle away. Few fixtures expose a team’s fitness and courage quite like it. Kerkez knows the terrain.

“I can remember last season how it was,” he said. “Big difference for me when you play like Bournemouth at Newcastle and Liverpool at Newcastle, so I can't wait, really. I think my team-mates also can't wait.

“Fantastic atmosphere there, so we need to go and first game, need to get the three points, definitely.”

That contrast – Bournemouth at St James’ Park versus Liverpool under the lights – underlines how sharply expectations have risen for the 20-year-old. He is no longer a promising full-back battling on the fringes. Under Iraola, he looks like a central piece of a high-octane plan.

Debutants make their mark

The night also belonged, in part, to Liverpool’s newcomers.

Jeremy Jacquet marked his unofficial debut with a goal and an assured defensive display that instantly caught Kerkez’s eye.

“He was brilliant, really,” Kerkez said. “Defensively, calm on the ball. Confidence is what we need. Plays hard, plays aggressive – Liverpool style of play, definitely. Really, really good.”

The pressure finally told again in the second half when Ronald Araujo entered the fray and brought the same edge.

“Araujo when he came in second half was aggressive, made a few tackles. So was good. JJ good. We were solid.”

Behind them, Alisson did what Alisson does – dealt with danger, kept the sheet clean, and reminded everyone why he remains the security blanket of this side.

“Ali, great, great to keep balls out of the net, so feels good when you have a clean sheet. We have to keep going next week.”

Pre-season is over. The experiments are largely done. Iraola’s template – aggressive, front-foot, physically demanding – is on show, and one of its most important early believers is already sprinting the touchline in full flow.

Next stop, Newcastle. Now the running really starts to count.