Milos Kerkez Embraces Aggressive Football Under Iraola

Milos Kerkez walked off Anfield with a clean sheet, 90 minutes in his legs and a familiar voice back in his ear. No wonder he looked like a man who had just been handed his game back.

Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Como wrapped up pre-season with a routine scoreline, but for the Hungarian left-back it felt like a restart. Back under Andoni Iraola, the coach who first unleashed him at Bournemouth, Kerkez is being told to do what he does best: run, attack, repeat.

“It’s a big difference, obviously,” he admitted, asked how life under Iraola compares to his first year at Anfield. The contrast with last season under Arne Slot is clear in his football and in his words.

Back with Iraola – and back on the front foot

Kerkez knows Iraola’s methods better than most in this Liverpool squad. He spent two seasons with him at Bournemouth before the £40m move to Merseyside, and that grounding is starting to show as the Spaniard stamps his identity on the red half of the city.

“We play really aggressive. We need to run a lot more,” Kerkez said. “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 demands are brutal. The reward, for a full-back like him, is freedom.

“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.”

That is Iraola’s blueprint in one sentence: front-foot, relentless, risk-heavy football. It is also why Kerkez looks so at ease. This is the version of him Liverpool thought they were buying.

“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.”

Legs burning, mindset clear

Against Como, Kerkez got what every player craves in the final friendly before a new campaign – a full match to sharpen body and mind.

“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 scoreline mattered, too. Liverpool needed a win to lock in the mood ahead of opening day.

“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.”

He is not pretending everything is perfect. Iraola’s style asks a lot of the entire team, and Kerkez was blunt about where the work remains.

“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 “next week” is not just any fixture. It is Newcastle United away to start the Premier League season, a test of lungs, nerve and structure.

“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.”

Newcastle memories and a new standard

Kerkez has been to St James’ Park before. The badge on his chest changed the scale of the occasion.

“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.”

The stage appeals to him. The challenge, even more so.

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

That is the tone around Liverpool now: no easing in, no gentle bedding under a new coach. Iraola’s demands are immediate, and his players are talking like they understand that.

New faces make their mark

The Como game also offered a first real look at some fresh blood in red. Jeremy Jacquet marked his unofficial debut with a goal and a performance that impressed those around him most.

“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, 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.

“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.”

That is where all of this points. Pre-season minutes are banked, Iraola’s ideas are beginning to stick, and Kerkez, finally, looks like a full-back built for this system.

Now comes Newcastle away, the noise, the running, the reality. Liverpool have asked for an aggressive, front-foot identity under a new head coach.

On Sunday, they find out how ready they really are.