Hangover no excuse as Liverpool problems pile up for Iraola

As if Andoni Iraola didn’t have enough to worry about, the new Liverpool manager now has European hangovers to fret over.

The Reds were certainly suffering at Anfield against Fulham, who claimed their first point of the season and probably head back to west London rueing leaving two more behind on Merseyside.

How Alvaro Arbeloa needed it. The Cottagers boss returned to the stage he graced with Liverpool for three seasons under serious pressure after only three weeks as a Premier League manager.

But Fulham looked the better organised and more driven of the two sides, earning Arbeloa some much-needed breathing space.

Liverpool were leggy and lethargic. Iraola presumably hopes that was a consequence of the shift his side put in to beat Atletico Madrid in midweek because meeting the demands of three fixtures a week sure feels like a more straightforward problem to solve than something structural. It is unlikely, though, to be that simple.

Because Liverpool’s insipidness was no one-off. The concerns that dogged their opening two matches – 2-2 draws with Newcastle and Forest – were obvious again against a side that ought not to have been allowed to drag their confidence off the floor to a level that had them believing through the second half that there was more than a point up for grabs.

That is especially true when Iraola’s forward line cost almost £400million. Yet it was Arbeloa’s defence, that previously lacked any hint of structure that dominated.

Arbeloa deserves credit for that – here the Fulham boss found the balance that has been sorely lacking. Which may be a simpler formula at Anfield as opposed to the fixtures Arbeloa wants to stamp his authority on. But a display of unity and cohesion does far more for the new manager than another fruitless show of tactical progressiveness.

Still, hungover or not, Liverpool were far too easily stifled.

Their forward line, three-quarters of which cost more than £100million each, was assembled so expensively for just this type of challenge, when games need to swung by a moment of elite quality.

Rather than step up, Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Bradley Barcola simply waited for each other to take the lead.

This being Barcola’s first Premier League start provides the France winger with some exoneration. Wirtz, though, is surely running out of excuses.

The £116million playmaker managed 0.06 expected assists against Fulham. Iraola said he ‘was not focused’ on Wirtz’s numbers as long as the German ‘helps us play well’. Even that, too often, seems too much to ask.

Wirtz’s work-rate was also offered by Iraola as reason for optimism around his no.7, who would surely benefit from a functioning midfield base behind him.

What has happened to Ryan Gravenberch? The Netherlands midfielder was brought in as one of three changes to ward off the threat of lethargy but, once again, Gravenberch was sloppy in possession and slow to react out of it.

Perhaps the question ought to be ‘what happened to Gravenberch in 2024/25?’ when he screened Arne Slot’s defence so securely on the way to the title. That season now seems like an anomaly, his form this campaign more closely resembling the two terms either side of the title which prompted criticism – but also a fat new contract.

Alexis Mac Alister can’t fathom why he hasn’t been offered one too and his frustration is understandable when the Argentina midfielder, despite being benched today after impressing against Atletico, is currently the best holding option available to Iraola.

That, though, says more about Liverpool’s refusal to strengthen their midfield during a mis-spent summer wasted chasing winger after winger.

Equally damning is Cody Gakpo’s emergence as their best player this season. Which itself presents Iraola with a problem: which £100million signing sits out so the winger recently deemed surplus to requirements can play?

That and the midfield are much more pressing concerns than simply finding a way to keep his players fresh to fight on multiple fronts, even if that’s new to Iraola too.