Jacquet scores on Liverpool debut as Gakpo sends reminder - 5 talking points

Liverpool rounded out pre-season with a comfortable 2-0 win against Cesc Fabregas' Como. New signing Jeremy Jacquet was among the goals, while Cody Gakpo opened the scoring amid uncertainty over his future.

Andoni Iraola's side head to Newcastle next Sunday, so it was a final chance for the new Reds boss to get a look at his players in action. Ronald Araujo also made his first appearance for Liverpool since joining on a season-long loan from Barcelona.

A quirk of this fixture was that the two teams had already played each other in a behind-closed-doors game earlier in the day. It finished 0-0 at Liverpool's AXA Training Centre, with Alexis Mac Allister the notable inclusion.

Here are five talking points from Anfield.

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When team news was released, all eyes were on whether Curtis Jones would make his return to the Liverpool squad. But the midfielder was missing for the second game running, with his future on Merseyside uncertain.

Italian giants Inter Milan are preparing a new bid for Jones, who's reportedly keen on the move to San Siro. Liverpool say that the 25-year-old has been dealing with a hip problem and trained alone on Sunday.

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Another player who's been linked with an exit is Gakpo. Tottenham are understood to be pushing to sign the Netherlands international, with reports claiming that personal terms have already been agreed.

But Gakpo has remained professional and finished off a flowing move to break the deadlock on 23 minutes. Jeremie Frimpong drove inside from right-back and lifted the ball over Como's defence.

Gakpo controlled it well and slotted home in one motion, sending a reminder to the Reds of what they'd be losing if they sell him to Tottenham. With Mo Salah gone, can Liverpool afford to lose another established forward?

With half-time looming, Como looked the more likely to score after a decent spell. But it was Liverpool who ended up doubling their lead before the interval.

Jacquet - making his first appearance of pre-season after recovering from a knee injury - was the scorer, given a simple tap-in from Gakpo's low cross. It was a gift for the centre-back, who's had to be patient to get his chance.

There was more to Jacquet's performance than his goal, though. The former Rennes prospect was enjoying himself defensively; showing composure on the ball, putting in challenges and made a goal-saving tackle shortly before his strike.

Jacquet was replaced at half-time, as Araujo made his Anfield bow. Lewis Koumas - who'd played 25 minutes in the earlier game - was also introduced, coming on for Rio Ngumoha.

When Liverpool shelled out a then-club-record £116million to sign Florian Wirtz a year ago, it was expected that he'd be rocking and rolling by now. But something still hasn't clicked.

The ex-Bayer Leverkusen star showed plenty of neat touches but didn't cause Como enough problems with his passing or dribbling. Fans are starting to doubt whether Wirtz deserves a starting berth, especially with Mac Allister on the verge of a return.

Given time, one would expect his partnership with Alexander Isak to bear fruit. For now, though, perhaps pushing Dominik Szoboszlai further forward is a right call.

So that's that. Liverpool's 2026 pre-season campaign is complete. The Reds have come away with three wins, two defeats and one draw from their six friendlies.

Now the focus is on facing Newcastle, who've had a summer of change of their own. Iraola has a few selection headaches before next Sunday's visit to Tyneside, but could he have Bradley Barcola at his disposal?

Liverpool's top target remains at Paris Saint-Germain player and is valued at £145m. But with the transfer window closing in just over two weeks, PSG could be tempted to budge.