If Andoni Iraola is going to be a success as Liverpool manager, his team cannot play like that every week. In the Reds' Premier League opener against Newcastle United at St James' Park, the Magpies scored two counter-attack goals, with the visitors' midfield simply far to wide open both times.
Liverpool have now conceded nine goals from counter attacks since the start of last season, the most of any side in the Premier League. This was also the first time they'd conceded multiple such goal in a single match since the opening day of the previous campaign, when Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth did just that to Arne Slot's team at Anfield. Thus, the Basque head coach knows how to expose Liverpool's weakness, but can he now fix it?
Speaking at his Thursday lunchtime press conference ahead of Saturday's clash with Nottingham Forest, Iraola was repeatedly asked about this and, as always, was honest with his answers:
"Yeah, that's the key – you said the balance. Because you don't want to lose this, the offensive side, the fluidity, the arrivals with numbers, but obviously we were punished... I think we've been definitely working on it.. there is a balance. We cannot go from one way where we send a lot of people forward to after we keep everyone so we don't arrive with numbers... this is also the quality of the player who takes those decisions."Andoni Iraola on style
Liverpool's midfield has come under plenty of scrutiny, particularly Iraola's choice of trio. As had been the case throughout pre-season, Ryan Gravenberch continues to be the lone six, with Dominik Szoboszlai bombing forward, as is his want, in support of number ten Florian Wirtz.
This leaves Alexis Mac Allister, who is still working his way back to fitness following the World Cup, as the odd man out for now. The Argentine could add a bit more defensive solidity to midfield, but this appears to not be something Iraola desires.
When asked if he thinks the Gravenberch-Szoboszlai-Wirtz trio can work as a midfield combination, this is what the head coach had to say:
"Obviously we cannot attack with everyone and then leave everyone at the back, but also there is a balance there. I don't want to tell Ryan Gravenberch, don't carry the ball and don't arrive to the box... there is a balance there. There's recognising the situations from the others also, how we can balance those numbers with other positions. Sometimes you have to accept it... depending on the situation and depending on where is your opposition."Andoni Iraola on midfield discipline
Thus, it is forecast that Iraola will deploy a similar lineup this weekend, which could be concerning for Kopites in attendance. Last November, a Sean Dyche-led Nottingham Forest swatted aside Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield, their first victory on that ground since before the Moon Landing, causing the hosts countless problems on the counter attack.
Now led by Oliver Glasner, who has won four of seven managerial meetings with the Reds, were the same to happen again, serious questions would be asked of Iraola's methods.
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