At Anfield, Iraola’s First Home Outing Reveals Liverpool’s Urgent Fix

• Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat to Monaco under Andoni Iraola revived familiar set-piece and game-management concerns
• Right wing remains unfilled post-Salah; centre-back still a must as Ronald Araujo undergoes a medical for a Barcelona loan
• Florian Wirtz shines as No 10 and Alexander Isak scores, but defensive depth and fitness issues bite

New era, old nerves. Andoni Iraola’s first Anfield outing ended in a 3-2 reverse to Monaco, a lively friendly that still screamed cautionary tale. Liverpool led, then wobbled, and once again a dead-ball and basic errors cost them. After the slow suffocation of Slotball, the tempo was quicker, the intent braver—yet the same soft underbelly surfaced.

If you’re weighing up form and futures, have a look at our best football betting sites. On the pitch, the recruitment to-do list remains glaring. Kostas Tsimikas returned at left-back in Andy Robertson’s stead, but Mohamed Salah’s old berth is still a vacancy. Lewis Koumas deputised on the right; promising, yes, but hardly a long-term answer. Rio Ngumoha finished there too—another nudge that Liverpool lack a senior winger for that side.

Iraola’s Blueprint Looks Bold—But Leaves the Back Door Ajar

There’s clear method already. Florian Wirtz was stationed as a true No 10, knitting attacks, while Alexander Isak got his goal after neat work from Ryan Gravenberch. Full-backs pushed high—tailor-made for Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez when both start—which asks centre-backs to defend big spaces one-on-one. That’s where the unease creeps in.

Virgil van Dijk showed rust, conceding a penalty that Aleksandr Golovin buried. Later, a mix-up involving Wataru Endo—reassigned as a makeshift centre-half—and Frimpong opened the door for Mika Biereth. The best defender on show? The giant Ifeanyi Ndukwe, again excellent on tour, but ineligible for competitive action without a work permit. The future looks bright with Ndukwe and fellow teenagers Mor Talla Ndiaye, Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet; the present, less so.

Transfers Will Decide Whether Promise Becomes Progress

Ronald Araujo’s imminent loan from Barcelona is pivotal—at 27, he’s the bridge between Van Dijk and the kids, especially with Joe Gomez sidelined and Ibrahima Konate departed. Recruitment stalled after Victor Munoz arrived in June; Yan Diomande slipped away, and PSG’s price for Bradley Barcola is well north of £100m, way beyond Liverpool’s current spend. The budget is tighter now, even if the ambition isn’t.

There were heartening moments—the Kop’s warm welcome for Harvey Elliott after his Villa loan, Wirtz dictating centrally, and signs of a more vertical, front-foot approach. But the message from this 3-2 defeat is simple: sort the right flank and shore up centre-back, or the slicker football Iraola wants will keep hitting the same old wall.

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