Liverpool have a new manager, a new tactical identity and, already, an old problem.

Andoni Iraola wants the Reds to play with the intensity and attacking freedom that made his Bournemouth side so difficult to handle. But in the early stages of his reign, Liverpool have also shown the danger that comes with that approach, twice surrendering two-goal leads in pre-season defeats by Leeds and Monaco.

Iraola replaced Arne Slot, who guided Liverpool to the Premier League title last season, and has signed a two-year contract. His arrival has also raised hopes that Liverpool could return to the high-energy, chaotic style associated with Jurgen Klopp.

Four pre-season matches offer only a small sample, but the Spaniard's fingerprints are already clear.

Liverpool have beaten Sunderland and Wrexham, while losing to Leeds and Monaco. They have averaged 60.6 per cent possession across those matches, significantly higher than the 47.7 per cent Bournemouth averaged under Iraola in the Premier League last season.

That is a new challenge for the Spaniard.

At Bournemouth, Iraola's teams were often able to attack quickly in transition. Liverpool, however, will face opponents prepared to sit deep and surrender possession.

His solution has been to combine patient build-up with sudden bursts of vertical football.

Liverpool have regularly built from the back with the goalkeeper, four defenders and one or two midfielders involved. Dominik Szoboszlai and Trey Nyoni have dropped deeper to receive the ball before Liverpool move play towards the flanks.

The aim is to tempt opponents forward before accelerating through the spaces they leave behind.

When teams press aggressively, Liverpool have also been prepared to abandon the short build-up, with Alisson or Giorgi Mamardashvili going long. The Reds then look to win the second ball and attack before the opposition can reorganise.

There are clear echoes of Marcelo Bielsa in Iraola's approach.

Bielsa coached Iraola at Athletic Club between 2011 and 2013 and remains one of his biggest managerial influences.

“I use a lot of exercises from Marcelo that I learned from him, especially with the ball,” Iraola told Sky Sports in 2023.

“Offensively, his teams are very dynamic, willing to make all the runs to the space, he is ready to accept this kind of disorder offensively.”

That “disorder” is already visible at Anfield.

Liverpool's players are encouraged to rotate rather than remain fixed in their positions, particularly in wide areas. On the left, a full-back can push forward alongside Rio Ngumoha or Cody Gakpo, while Florian Wirtz moves across to create another passing option.

The rotations make it difficult for defenders to decide whom to track and can create dangerous one-on-one situations.

But there is a price.

Liverpool can become extremely top-heavy, with both full-backs, two midfielders and the front three committed to the attack. At times, only two centre-backs and a holding midfielder remain behind the ball.

That leaves space for counter-attacks, a vulnerability that has already been exposed in pre-season.

After the defeat by Monaco, Iraola admitted Liverpool “can't sustain the level we want, we have work to do”.

Defensively, the Spaniard has also introduced his trademark high press.

Liverpool have often defended in a 4-4-2 diamond, initially encouraging opponents to play short before launching more aggressive pressing sequences and attempting to force the ball into central areas.

Szoboszlai has become particularly important to that system. Rather than moving across the pitch as frequently as he did under Slot, the Hungary captain has mainly operated as the second central midfielder, providing the energy required to press and cover ground.

“He is very good,” Szoboszlai said of his new manager. “The intensity we need is here now, what we have been missing is back.”

That intensity could become one of Iraola's biggest strengths, but also one of his biggest tests.

It is still only pre-season, and four matches are hardly enough to judge a new manager.

Yet the early signs suggest Liverpool will be asked to play faster, press harder and attack with greater freedom.

The challenge for Iraola is to make all that chaos work without allowing it to consume Liverpool.

If he finds that balance, Anfield could be in for a very different kind of high-intensity football.