Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has admitted the team is struggling with congested fixtures and maintaining peak physical fitness following a disappointing draw against Fulham at Anfield.
Coming just 60 hours after their thrilling midweek Champions League victory over Atlético Madrid, the Reds produced a flat offensive performance that left the Spanish manager searching for solutions.
Liverpool found themselves held to another domestic draw as they struggled to break down a resilient Fulham side, leaving Iraola frustrated.
Lacking the spark and intensity that characterised their midweek Champions League win, the hosts managed to keep a clean sheet but created very little in front of goal.
Speaking to BBC Match of the Day after the final whistle, Iraola expressed his dissatisfaction with the result and the team’s sluggish performance:
“When you draw, especially at home, you can’t be happy. Today we lacked a bit of freshness and we did not do enough offensively to make the difference.
We have been good enough to keep the clean sheet. It was slightly better in the second half. In the first half we started the game slow, we lacked energy and it was not enough, we have to be offensively better.”
Andoni Iraola reflects on draw as he makes major admission
The Liverpool head coach candidly pointed to the grueling fixture schedule as a primary factor behind the sluggish display.
“It is less than three days, 60 hours, [since playing Atletico Madrid] and a lot of players had to adapt,” Iraola admitted.
“Most of the changes were for physical reasons because the players were tired, but that is the season and in less than three days we will be here against Spurs [in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday]. We have to adapt and find ways to win.”
Addressing the integration of new signing Bradley Barcola, Iraola emphasised that match fitness is an issue across the squad: “Bradley is one we are building up physically with games and the games will give him the condition we want. But it is not just Bradley, we lack the freshness. I only remember one clear chance [for Fulham] and we kept the structure but offensively we need to do much better.”
Liverpool are still unbeaten but need to turn draws into wins
While Liverpool remain unbeaten across all competitions under Iraola, turning single points into victories is becoming an urgent priority.
The lack of cutting edge has shown how much Mohamed Salah’s departure is being felt; had Liverpool kept their talismanic winger, his clinical finishing and veteran presence likely would have thrived in Iraola’s high-tempo tactical system.
Liverpool will now face Tottenham next in the Carabao Cup and Iraola must quickly find a way to re-energise the squad in what is expected to be a tough outing.
The fixtures have been kind to iraola, games you expect any Liverpool team to win. Newcastle, forest, Ipswich and Fulham.
We’ve already dropped six points, four at home.
If this Liverpool squad can’t cope against poor opponents after champions league games then what happens when we play better teams away from home after champions league.
It’s no good having three 100 million pound players in the team if the back up squad is of championship quality
You cannot expect to win games after playing on a
Wednesday with just two changes on a Saturday.
Bigger problems and better teams await than Fulham.
Rotation with our current squad, after champions league it’s going to get worse. Especially when we play away.
Our second team would struggle in the championship.
Top teams in EPL always have a congested fixtures and busy schedules. Look at Arsenal, their back office works very well with Arteta. So Arteta has enough good players for him to use. Tactics can be changed as needed. What do you think of Liverpool
We’ve had a easy start with fixtures , iraola already complaining about players being tierd after just four premier league games.
It didn’t bother Arsenal who played away at Napoli in the heat on Wednesday, and then again away at Sunderland on Saturday. Arsenal though made five changes on Saturday, because they have a squad strong enough to cope with three games a week.
Look at the fixtures coming up for Liverpool in October and November. This time harder games away from home after champions league.
It’s no good iraola moaning now, he should have said the squad wasn’t good enough to FSG much sooner.
Yes men don’t last long at Liverpool football club.
What team will we put out against spurs on Tuesday?
The weakest possible.
One of the richest clubs in the world making 700 million a season with a squad not fit for the championship.
The legacy of charlatan owners FSG as they are about to sell up and cash in on their 300 million investment.
300 million to 5 billion.
We are in terminal decline.
I think Iraola did make the point re: squad depth, but with FSG he was never going to be heard. With Hughes, he was never going to get the right player profile either. The recruitment window was always going to be about Hughe’s showmanship, chasing elites, and not about the hard grind of player profiling and squad development.