Liverpool have a brilliant new attacking partnership, completely out of nowhere

Liverpool found themselves a brilliant-looking partnership this weekend. And it's completely out of nowhere.

Liverpool need some wins in attack as the squad is seriously lacking right now. Mohamed Salah's exit creates a big void up top, while Hugo Ekitike's injury only exacerbates the problem.

The real issue is that Liverpool don't want to sign a new forward to 'replace' Ekitike temporarily. But they also can't entirely rely on Alexander Isak after his injury-hit debut campaign.

But maybe there's a sudden answer. Liverpool enjoyed their first pre-season friendly on Saturday, beating Sunderland 4-2 in Nashville.

The latter two goals came from 'unlikely' sources, too, as Federico Chiesa and Lewis Koumas both scored. That's a pair of players few expected to still be with Liverpool, quite honestly.

And yet, they looked great as a front-two. Koumas showed some wonderful moments on the ball and looked as sharp as anyone on the pitch, fully deserving his late goal.

Chiesa's finish for his was fantastic, too - and looked like the player we thought Liverpool were getting back in 2024. So that all begs the question: is Andoni Iraola exactly what they needed?

Both players showed energy, sharpness, and goalscoring ability against a Premier League defence. It's exactly what the Reds need right now as they build a squad that can handle Ekitike's absence.

Now, will both be able to feature in the squad next season? That seems very unlikely unless someone else leaves, and instead it's sensible to assume that both players are competing for one spot.

But this is a partnership to keep an eye on in pre-season. They delivered precisely what Iraola needed on Saturday and if they can each keep that up, Liverpool will have some tough decisions to make ahead of the new season.