Milos Kerkez Embraces Freedom Under Iraola at Liverpool

Milos Kerkez walked off Anfield with a clean sheet, 90 minutes in his legs and a familiar voice back in his ear.

Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Como wrapped up pre-season on Saturday, but for the Hungarian left-back it felt like something more: a return to a style of football he knows, and clearly loves, under Andoni Iraola.

Back with Iraola – and back on the front foot

Kerkez’s first year at Liverpool under Arne Slot never fully caught fire after his £40m switch from Bournemouth. There were flashes, but not the sustained surge many expected from a full-back signed to terrorise flanks.

Now Iraola, the man who first unleashed him on the Premier League at Bournemouth, is in the home dugout at Anfield. Kerkez looks like he’s been waiting for this.

“Everyone hopes so,” he said when asked if Iraola can bring special times to Liverpool. “I mean, it's a big difference, obviously.

“We play really aggressive. We need to run a lot more. 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 word he kept coming back to was freedom. You could see it in his game and hear it in his voice.

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

“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.”

This is Iraola-ball in a nutshell: risk, running, and relentless width. Kerkez, more than most, knows the drill.

Legs burning, mind clear

Against Como, Kerkez completed his first full 90 minutes of the summer. The rhythm is returning, even if the body reminded him it’s still August.

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

The performance mattered almost as much as the result, but the 2-0 scoreline still carried weight in the dressing room.

“We needed to get the win today, to get that positive mentality going into the next week. 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.”

The message was clear: this Liverpool side is not the finished product yet. The intensity is there, the structure is still catching up.

Eyes on Newcastle and a different kind of trip

Next up is no gentle easing-in. Liverpool open their Premier League campaign away to Newcastle United on Sunday, a fixture Kerkez knows all too well from his Bournemouth days.

“A lot of guys needed 90 today. 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.

“I can remember last season how it was. 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.”

There was no talk of settling for a point. No talk of easing into a new regime. Iraola’s Liverpool, if Kerkez is any kind of barometer, intend to attack the season from the first whistle at St James’ Park.

Debutants make their mark

The Como win also doubled as a first look at two new faces in red: Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo. Both earned immediate approval from the man patrolling the left flank.

“He was brilliant, really,” Kerkez said of Jacquet, who capped his unofficial debut with a goal. “Defensively, calm on the ball. Confidence is what we need. Plays hard, plays aggressive – Liverpool style of play, definitely. Really, really good.”

Araujo, introduced after the break, brought his own 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.

“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.”

Aggression, clean sheets, full-backs flying, a goalkeeper locking the door and a manager demanding more running, more pressing, more front-foot football.

For Kerkez, this is familiar territory. The question now is simple: can Iraola’s Liverpool take that freedom and ferocity from a quiet afternoon against Como and plant it right in the middle of St James’ Park on opening weekend?