ANFIELD — You spend £250m on two forwards and then watch as your two central midfielders score the goals. You spend £250m on two forwards and the 18-year-old academy kid outshines them both on the new manager’s Champions League debut. Andoni Iraola may not have planned in this way, but you see if he cares.
This was heralded as a potential breakout night for Iraola’s Liverpool after sticky domestic duties. They were never perfect and occasionally downright disorganised. But the roars were meaningful for this early in a season, for they reflected spirit if not systemic fluidity.
That alone is worth dwelling upon, given the famous personality of their opponents on Wednesday evening. Liverpool did not gain a single draw or victory after trailing in any of their last 19 matches of 2025-26, a run stretching back to January. So far this season they have trailed twice against Newcastle, twice against Forest and once against Atletico Madrid and lost none.
Liverpool’s team was certainly attacking: three forwards plus Florian Wirtz and neither Alexis Mac Allister nor Dominik Szoboszlai are exactly gnarled, brutish midfield destroyers. It’s a lovely idea if you are able to win the ball high up the pitch, but then that’s hardly the strength of Alexander Isak, Rio Ngumoha or the waif-like Florian Wirtz. The end result is that Liverpool are frighteningly easy to pass through.
Liverpool’s midfielders outshone their glittering attack (Photo: Getty)That is the sort of system fault that can make a defence turn to jelly and you better believe this Liverpool back four is wibbling and wobbling. It seemed to exist in two states: static as Atleti players took shots from outside the box, all over the shop as the defensive line was wonky to the point of non-existence.
The leader of both movements was Milos Kerkez, who hasn’t yet paid the same price as Jeremie Frimpong in being relegated to Iraola’s bench but probably only because there isn’t a better option than Kostas Tsimikas. Given Iraola supercharged Kerkez’s form at Bournemouth, it’s almost impressive how hard it is to parse what he offers currently.
They made it not matter. Iraola chose to keep Ngumoha in his favoured position and start Bradley Barcola on the right wing. Ngumoha’s direct dribbling didn’t always work, but offered a welcome respite to Wirtz’s first-half nothingness and also helped create Liverpool’s second goal.
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Liverpool: How Liverpool went from transfer masters to £60m panic pursuits Premier League: What Friedkins are really planning for Everton – and Moyes’ transfer kittyIt did occasionally present a problem. Barcola is not used to playing on the right and therefore also rarely shoots across his body. He missed two presentable chances from the right side of the area and then a one-on-one with the same body shape. Inverted wingers cutting inside on their preferred foot to shoot with curl is the natural tendency. It will take time to adapt.
That is true of everyone here. The midfield balance isn’t quite right. The full-backs are hard to work out. Virgil van Dijk is being a little exposed. Alexander Isak is still finding his way back. The new £123m signing is being deliberately picked in a position he’s not used to because Liverpool have lots of natural left wingers and not many on the right.
This all sounds quite negative, doesn’t it? Particularly after beating a side that reached the Champions League semi-finals four months ago. It shouldn’t. This is no pile on and nobody is being damned.
It’s just that it’s very hard to work out how this Liverpool team is going to attack and even harder to work out how it intends to protect its goalkeeper effectively. All I know: it’s going to be great fun finding out and it’s far better doing it when you’re still unbeaten in all competitions.
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