I’m Loving What Iraola Is Building at Liverpool After 2-1 Atletico Win

Liverpool’s Champions League campaign started with a hard-earned win at Anfield, and while there is still plenty for Andoni Iraola to work on, I saw enough against Atletico Madrid to feel increasingly positive about where this team is heading.

Liverpool are up and running in the Champions League.

Was it perfect? Absolutely not. Was I nervous towards the end? You bet I was. But Atletico Madrid are seasoned European campaigners and when you fall behind against them, you know exactly what sort of evening could be waiting for you.

Instead, Liverpool responded.

Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai turned the game around after Marcos Llorente had opened the scoring, giving Andoni Iraola a 2-1 victory in his first Champions League game as Liverpool head coach.

I’ll take that every single day of the week.

Florian Wirtz deserves his flowers

I’m starting with Florian Wirtz because I thought he was absolutely brilliant.

He was my man of the match.

There were still a couple of loose passes, but the sheer volume of work he got through was incredible. He set the tone for so much of our pressing, chased everything, won the ball back and continually tried to make things happen.

I’d love to see the distance covered because watching the game, it felt like he was everywhere.

There has been so much rubbish spoken about Wirtz already. People seem desperate to knock him because of the money Liverpool paid for him. I’ve got no interest in joining that pile-on.

Of course I want more goals and assists from him. Everybody does. They will come.

Right now, though, I’m seeing a player getting better and looking increasingly comfortable in this Liverpool team. Against Atletico, I thought we saw one of his best performances in a Liverpool shirt.

If people are quick enough to criticise him, then we should be equally quick to give him his flowers when he deserves them.

He deserved them at Anfield.

Araujo has barely put a foot wrong

Ronald Araujo was right up there alongside Wirtz.

I genuinely don’t think he has put a foot wrong since arriving at Liverpool.

He played at right-back against Atletico and looked assured, composed and aggressive. There was a lovely flick in the build-up to Szoboszlai’s goal too.

I know plenty of Barcelona supporters seemed happy to see him leave, but I can only judge what I’ve watched since he came through the door.

He has been excellent.

I’m not saying Liverpool should immediately trigger whatever permanent option they have available. He needs to prove himself across an entire season and there is no reason to rush that decision.

But if this level continues, the conversation becomes very interesting.

Araujo actually won our Anfield Agenda man of the match poll, ahead of Wirtz, Szoboszlai and Mac Allister. I went Wirtz, but I certainly couldn’t argue with anyone choosing Araujo.

Alongside him, Jeremy Jacquet and Virgil van Dijk were imperious. That partnership is starting to blossom nicely.

Mac Allister and Szoboszlai are setting the standard

How good is it to see this version of Alexis Mac Allister again?

This is the Mac Allister we fell in love with.

The goal was superb. Rio Ngumoha drove at Atletico, the ball eventually ricocheted towards Mac Allister and he drove it left-footed beyond Jan Oblak.

His performance was about far more than the goal.

The work rate, tenacity and intelligence were all there. He picked up a yellow card, which eventually made taking him off understandable, but until then I thought he was outstanding.

Alongside him, Szoboszlai was brilliant.

His goal was a thing of beauty. Araujo’s flick was excellent, then Dom provided the calm, composed finish.

We still have an issue with the balance of that midfield. I’ve been saying Liverpool need a proper defensive midfielder and nothing I saw against Atletico changed my opinion.

When possession turns over, we can still look vulnerable.

For now, however, I completely understand why Iraola keeps going with Mac Allister and Szoboszlai. They give you everything.

Unfortunately, Ryan Gravenberch did himself no favours when he came on.

I love Gravenberch, but I’m not sugar-coating that cameo. He was awful.

He gave the ball away repeatedly, got brushed off it and never seemed to adjust to the speed of the game. It was completely unlike him, but his performance isn’t going to convince Iraola that he should be breaking up the Mac Allister and Szoboszlai partnership.

Iraola showed me exactly what I want from a Liverpool manager

This might have been the most encouraging part of the evening.

Iraola admitted afterwards that he had not expected Atletico to play with a back five and said: “I have to take a bit of the blame and responsibility.”

I love that.

No excuses. No throwing players under the bus. He got something wrong, admitted it and then did something about it.

Liverpool improved after the break, particularly Ngumoha, who had struggled to find space when Atletico doubled and sometimes trebled up on him during the first half.

The press was there throughout. Whatever criticisms we have about the performance, nobody can question the work rate.

Bradley Barcola also improved in the second half and probably should have scored when he went through one-on-one with Oblak. Thankfully, Iraola confirmed afterwards that his problem was only cramp.

Alexander Isak had a quieter night, but I’m not particularly concerned. Atletico defended deeper and there simply wasn’t the same space available for him to attack. His work rate was there, his movement was there and he had a couple of half chances.

Milos Kerkez remains a concern.

There is good stuff there, particularly his aggression in the press. We have now seen that contribute to Liverpool creating goals. But he is frantic.

He needs to calm himself down by five or ten per cent because his positioning continues to cause problems. Atletico’s goal was a perfect example. Once Llorente made the run, Kerkez tried to play offside when it was already too late.

That needs work.

I wasn’t particularly impressed by Jeremie Frimpong’s cameo either. If you’re playing on the wing in this system, you have to work back. I saw Barcola doing it, but I didn’t see enough of it from Frimpong.

Still, those are things for Iraola to address from a position of strength.

Liverpool had 14 shots, five on target and seven corners. Atletico had more possession, but I felt we deserved the victory. We could have been more clinical and killed the game earlier, which would have saved all of us a few heart palpitations towards the end.

And I can’t finish without mentioning the referee.

I thought he was absolutely abysmal.

Ghost fouls were being given while genuine challenges were waved away. Atletico players seemed able to hit the floor and immediately win a free-kick. It was an incredibly frustrating performance from an official who looked completely out of his depth.

Thankfully, it didn’t cost us.

A goal down, 2-1 winners, three points and Iraola has his first Champions League victory as Liverpool manager.

There is plenty to improve, but I like what I’m seeing.

The intensity is returning. The press is returning. Mac Allister looks revitalised, Szoboszlai is becoming hugely influential, Wirtz is growing into this team and Araujo has made an outstanding start.

Now we take that confidence into Fulham.

Much Love.