Liverpool
Iraola Hails Liverpool’s Bright Start But Warns More Time Is Needed
Iraola praised Liverpool’s start against Monaco, but said the squad still lacks the stamina to sustain his demands.
Andoni Iraola has offered a blunt reminder to Liverpool that the work of pre-season is still far from complete, even after a promising opening against Monaco suggested there is attacking potential in the squad.
Liverpool were impressive for the first half-hour on Sunday, with the Florian Wirtz-Alexander Isak combination beginning to stand out, but they faded sharply after that. Iraola, whose Bournemouth sides have long been associated with intense pressing and relentless running, said the squad is not yet ready to sustain the style he wants across a full match.
“We played a good first half, especially a good 30 minutes,” Iraola reflected. “Right now, we probably don’t have much more, in terms of the levels required to play like this, and [Monaco] were much better in the second half. They deserved to turn around the game.”
The match also brought the first pre-season appearances for Alisson, Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo, while new signing Víctor Muñoz came off the bench for an unofficial debut in the closing half hour. Iraola said the issue is not a lack of effort, but a lack of stamina for the demands being placed on them.
“It was their first game, and even the ones who are playing the second game, they had energy. The problem right now is they don’t have the energy for 90 minutes,” the boss said.
“They start to get tired, and it will take time for them. We need more training with them. But we can take a lot of positives, but also a lot of negatives.”
Van Dijk, now 35, remains without a settled partner at centre-back heading into the season. He started alongside teenager Ifeanyi Ndukwe, later played briefly with Wataru Endo, and then left the field after 60 minutes. Joe Gomez, Jérémy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni were all unavailable through injury.
There is some optimism that Jacquet could be involved against Como next weekend, either in a behind-closed-doors fixture or the public match at Anfield. Liverpool are also working on a loan move for Ronald Araújo from Barcelona, but the situation is still developing rather than resolved.
“It definitely feels like a bit of a transition, for sure,” Van Dijk told reporters.
Liverpool
Alisson makes his Liverpool stance clear as contract talks go on
Alisson has said he wants to stay at Liverpool as the club weigh up a new deal and his fitness record.
Alisson Becker has removed any ambiguity over his Liverpool future, making it clear that he wants to remain at the club beyond next summer while renewal talks continue.
Liverpool already activated a clause last summer to extend his contract by another year, and the Brazilian still occupies the undisputed starting role in goal. At 34, he is no longer at the very top of his peak, but he remains one of the most important figures in the side. After the 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace at the weekend, he addressed his future directly and said he wants to extend his stay in Merseyside.
“Yes, in my mind,” Alisson responded, per Sky Sports , when asked if he wanted to continue at the club. “I’m focused on playing every game, but in my mind, I’m happy to stay. You know, that depends on a lot of aspects and different situations.
“But my will is to stay. I’m happy here, my family is happy here. I’m still hungry for titles and for delivering good performances. I still want to play at the top level for as long as I can. So that’s my thinking on that.”
Those remarks followed what was arguably his finest showing of the season, a six-save performance against Crystal Palace. They also arrived only days after Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola said he wanted the Brazilian to “continue with us for more time.”
There is, though, a broader conversation around whether Liverpool should commit to another deal. Alisson is not the same goalkeeper he was five years ago, even if he can still reach a very high level. Under Iraola, Liverpool are still a work in progress defensively, and Alisson has kept only four clean sheets in 14 starts in all competitions this term while conceding 20 goals.
Fitness is another concern. Injuries have been a recurring issue for the Brazilian over the last three years, with at least two months missed in each season since the start of 2023-24.
When available, however, he remains Liverpool’s strongest option in goal. Giorgi Mamardashvili has not seriously challenged him since arriving as backup last summer, while Caoimhín Kelleher, now at Brentford, might have been a more natural successor.
Liverpool are not dealing with a goalkeeper crisis, but they do have other areas to address. A short-term renewal for one of their veteran leaders could still prove sensible if the terms are reasonable. Virgil van Dijk is also due to be out of contract next summer, leaving the club with major decisions to make on two long-serving defensive pillars.
Liverpool
Szoboszlai knee issue leaves Liverpool waiting on fitness update
Liverpool are waiting on Szoboszlai after a knee complaint, with Iraola fearing another international setback.
Liverpool are monitoring Dominik Szoboszlai after the midfielder picked up a knee complaint during Sunday’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace. Andoni Iraola admitted the Hungary captain was not fully right, saying the concern is exactly the sort of problem the club wanted to avoid at this stage.
“Dom has… I don’t know [if it’s] a problem, but he definitely wasn’t 100%,” Iraola told assembled media in the wake of a 3–1 win . “I think he extended a little bit the knee, it was fine, but not 100%, so he has to be careful to see if he can play with the national team or not.“
The manager made clear that his hope is for Szoboszlai to be held back from international duty if needed. Liverpool have already been through one painful spell this season, and Iraola was keen to stress that another repeat would be unwelcome.
“The last thing we need now is to lose players in the international games,” Iraola lamented. “Last time, in the international break, we lost three very important players, so now I’m praying—it’s the last thing we need.”
“We will see,” the Basque boss added, “and also hope that it doesn’t happen like the other break where we lost Alex [Isak], Cody [Gakpo] and Dom. So, touch wood we are in a better place in two weeks.”
This is not the first time Szoboszlai has faced a fitness issue this season. He had earlier suffered a hamstring problem while away on international duty in the fall, which ruled him out of a notable meeting with Manchester City, a match Liverpool lost 3-0.
He was also expected to miss Austrian outsider LASK in the Champions League, but Iraola brought him back for the Premier League trip to Brentford. That decision lasted only half an hour, and those were the only minutes he managed for Liverpool during the whole of October.
Liverpool
Iraola’s opening Liverpool run compared with Klopp and Slot after 15 matches
Iraola’s first 15 Liverpool matches stack up more closely with Klopp than Slot despite a tough recent run.
Andoni Iraola has now reached 15 matches in charge of Liverpool, and the early picture is one of contrast and comparison. He has just suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time since taking over, with the loss in Istanbul following the 1-0 reverse against Arsenal at Anfield, where Liverpool failed to register a shot on target for the first time in more than 20 years.
Those two defeats in four days mean Iraola has already lost more games than Arne Slot did across his opening 15 matches. But the Spanish coach’s start still sits much closer to Jürgen Klopp’s first stretch at the club, and in some areas it is even stronger.
Through 15 games, Iraola has recorded eight wins, four draws and three defeats, with Liverpool scoring 29 and conceding 21. Klopp’s opening 15 produced seven wins, five draws and three losses, with 23 goals scored and 15 conceded. Slot’s start, by comparison, was on another level: 13 wins, one draw and one defeat, with 35 goals scored and only 10 let in.
Slot’s beginning at Anfield was extraordinary. He became the first manager in club history to win 11 of his first 12 matches, and by his 15th game he had built a sequence of 13 wins and just one defeat. That momentum carried Liverpool on to the 2024-25 Premier League title in his debut season.
Iraola, however, arrived into a very different situation. He inherited a side that was already substantially changed, unlike Slot, who took over a team that was already highly established. His context is closer to Klopp’s, who arrived with far less of a platform and had to build while going.
The mood around the team shifted sharply after the Arsenal and Manchester City defeats, both at home, but Iraola pointed to the earlier run of four straight wins and Carabao Cup progress at Chelsea as a reminder that perspective matters.
“It’s not easy in the moment because we react the same way,” Iraola told reporters on Friday. “When we lose a game, everyone is angry. But we have to have some perspective, and we know that in the process, [there] will be ups and downs and we have to get through this moment.
“We would love to have good performances, wins, good results, but normally it doesn’t happen. There are moments when you are in a good run like we were before Arsenal, now you lose two games and there are always doubts. But I understand, as a supporter I would do the same, it’s normal.”
