Liverpool’s Defensive Rebuild: Jacquet and Araujo Impress in Pre-Season

Jeremy Jacquet and Ronaldo Araujo have barely unpacked their bags, but they are already throwing themselves into Liverpool’s defensive rebuild.

Both summer arrivals were thrust straight into action in Sunday’s pre-season win over Como, Jacquet starting the game before making way for Araujo at the break. Between them, they offered an early glimpse of why the club moved to strengthen the backline.

Jacquet, eager and aggressive, topped the tackle charts in his 45 minutes on the pitch, winning three challenges and coming out on top in seven duels – the joint-most in the match. It was a sharp, front-foot display from a defender who has waited a long time to feel the rhythm of a competitive outing again.

By half-time, though, his race was run. Fatigue set in, and the plan was always to share the load. Araujo stepped in, the Uruguayan loanee given his first chance to feel the crowd and the tempo of his new surroundings.

He did not waste it. On his home debut, Araujo won five of his seven duels and registered the second-most tackles in the game with two, bringing a combative edge and a clear willingness to engage physically.

The early signs are promising, but nobody inside the camp is pretending that partnerships appear overnight.

"It's a start, a good start so hopefully he can crack on. [You build relationships] by playing games. I won't say it's the only way, but games are totally different than training.

"Jeremy's English is, I would say, a bit better than Ronald's but at the end of the day we are all pretty good footballers. We can see and smell some moments on how to defend certain situations.

"But it's pretty clear that you need to form a connection together and that takes a bit of time. In my opinion that's absolutely normal but hopefully we can get that going as quickly as possible.

"Like I said, I think [Jacquet] did well. I think he came out of it a bit tired, but it's absolutely normal when you're playing your first 45 minutes after such a long time. Now it's down to him to recover."

For Jacquet, the task is simple: rest, reset, and be ready to build on a solid first step. For Araujo, the challenge is to turn an encouraging cameo into consistency.

The numbers from Como hint at potential. The real test comes when pre-season ends and those fledgling connections at the back have to withstand the weight of a long campaign.