Halfway through Liverpool’s pre-season schedule, the identity head coach Andoni Iraola is trying to imprint on his new team is becoming clearer.There were positives to take from victories over Sunderland and Wrexham, and then the first half against Leeds United was the best Liverpool had looked during their tour of the United States. The second half of the 4-2 defeat, after Iraola’s team had gone into the break with a two-goal lead, was a reminder of the work that needs to be done. That 45 minutes was a throwback to the worst of last season — a team that lacked presence up front, couldn’t impose itself in midfield, were vulnerable at the back, and failed to deal with set pieces. Except for Alexis Mac Allister, who remains on holiday after the World Cup, Iraola is linking up with the rest of his squad this week and the hard work will continue on Merseyside for the opening game of the Premier League season against Newcastle United on August 23. Pre-season is rarely the place to draw sweeping conclusions, but The Athletic analysed the first three games to identify the tactical takeaways from Liverpool’s Stateside trip.Progressive ball movementIt took only 12 minutes in the first pre-season game against Sunderland for Liverpool to score the type of goal supporters hope to see frequently under Iraola. Liverpool went from their penalty box to the opponents’ area in 14 seconds and three passes as James McConnell, Rio Ngumoha and Harvey Elliott combined to find Kieran Morrison, who nestled a shot into the bottom corner.“Vertical” was one of the three words Iraola used to describe the playing style he wanted to bring to Anfield in his first press conference last month, and Liverpool looked at their most threatening on tour when they progressed the ball up the pitch at speed. Key to the goal above was the inside movement of Ngumoha — areas we didn’t see the 17-year-old occupy last season — and Elliott, who both found spaces in between Sunderland’s defensive structure.They nearly scored a similar goal in the opening minutes of their 1-0 victory over Wrexham when Dominik Szoboszlai found Elliott in an advanced central position. He released Josh Abe, but the 16-year-old was denied. The same combination helped create a shooting chance for Calum Scanlon shortly after.Iraola wants his players to take risks on the ball. That has required inexperienced centre-backs to pass into central areas. Liverpool’s third goal against Sunderland, scored by Federico Chiesa, came from that ball progression. Luke Chambers found the Italy international, who laid the ball off to Lewis Koumas. The 20-year-old released Abe and he carried the ball to the edge of the area. From back-to-front in the blink of an eye and three passes later, Liverpool had scored. A key part of creating and capitalising on space is through pressing and counter-pressing, followed by decisive, forward-thinking ball movement.