Milos Kerkez Embraces Freedom at Liverpool Under Iraola

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 might have been a low-key way to close pre-season, but for the Hungarian left-back it underlined something bigger: Andoni Iraola has brought back the version of Kerkez that terrorised flanks at Bournemouth.

Freedom down the left

Kerkez’s first year at Liverpool under Arne Slot never quite caught fire. A £40m signing from Bournemouth, he often looked chained to structure rather than unleashed on space. Now, with Iraola installed after Slot’s departure earlier in the summer, the shackles are off.

“It's a big difference, obviously,” Kerkez said, asked how life under Iraola compares. “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.

“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.”

This is the Iraola blueprint Kerkez knows by heart. Two seasons together at Bournemouth have made the 20-year-old one of the most naturally attuned players to the Spaniard’s demands at Anfield. The transition looks almost seamless.

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

The message is clear: run, press, attack. Repeat.

Building towards Newcastle

The Como game was Liverpool’s final tune-up before the Premier League opener away to Newcastle United on Sunday. For Kerkez, it was also his first full 90 minutes of the summer.

“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.

“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.”

The result mattered less than the rhythm. Iraola’s system demands relentless running from full-backs, wingers and midfielders. Pre-season minutes are currency.

“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.”

Kerkez knows St James’ Park well enough. He also knows the difference between arriving there as a Bournemouth player and walking out in a Liverpool shirt.

“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.”

The bar has been set: no easing into the campaign, no free hits. Newcastle away is a test of everything Iraola has tried to drill in over a short summer.

Aggression with a warning

For all the optimism, Kerkez knows this Liverpool side is not yet the finished article under their new head coach.

“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 aggression Iraola demands comes with a risk. Full-backs push high, centre-backs hold a daring line, and the wide forwards must double as auxiliary defenders. Kerkez’s call for “more help from the wingers” is less a criticism and more a nod to the fine-tuning still required before the real games begin.

Still, the clean sheet against Como, and the way Liverpool controlled the game, gave the back line something tangible to carry into Tyneside.

“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.”

New faces make their mark

The afternoon also belonged to Liverpool’s debutants. Jeremy Jacquet marked his unofficial bow with a goal and a performance that instantly caught Kerkez’s eye.

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

Ronald Araujo, introduced after the break, drew similar praise for his bite and timing.

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

Between Jacquet’s composure, Araujo’s edge and Alisson’s authority behind them, Liverpool’s defensive unit looked aligned with Iraola’s demands, even if Kerkez insists there is more to come.

The tone around Anfield is different now. The football is faster, the runs are longer, the risk higher. Kerkez, back under the coach who first trusted him in England, has no intention of playing it safe.

He wants to “fly up and down.” Iraola wants exactly that. Newcastle away will show how far this new Liverpool are prepared to push that idea on day one of a long, unforgiving season.