Road Warriors, Leaky Middle: What Selhurst Park Really Told Us About Iraola’s Reds
Two defeats on the bounce had started the usual chorus of doubt, so a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace was exactly what Liverpool needed. It lifts Andoni Iraola’s side into fourth and, more importantly, it was earned in a setting where this club so often came unstuck last season. Our take, though, is that the scoreline flatters the afternoon a little, and the truth sits somewhere between the relief and the warning signs.
Journalist David Lynch, reacting to the game on YouTube, reached a similar conclusion: not a polished display, but one that showed a team learning how to survive awkward trips.
Read more: Craig’s Column: Alisson Saved Liverpool Against Palace, But Our Defence Still Worries Me
A completely different animal on the road
Start with the number that matters most. That is now four Premier League away wins in a row, and 13 points banked from the first five league games on the road. Compare that with the nine away league defeats Liverpool suffered last term and the shift is stark. Lynch called it a total transformation in the side’s capacity to scrap through difficult fixtures, and we would struggle to argue with him.
This is the clearest fingerprint Iraola has left on the squad so far. This side can be second best for spells and still leave with the points. Lynch went as far as saying nobody could reasonably ask more of the head coach to date, and on this evidence that is fair.
The engine room is still the problem
Now for the part that should keep the coaching staff busy this week. Palace had 19 attempts to Liverpool’s 20, and the expected goals tally was almost level, 2.38 to 2.65. A two-goal margin hides how open the match was, and most of that openness came through the middle of the pitch, where Palace players were able to run at and beyond Liverpool’s midfield far too easily. Lynch made the same observation, saying the Reds were too often bypassed centrally.
Dominik Szoboszlai is the awkward case here. On paper he had a productive day, with an assist and five chances created. Look a little closer and the picture changes: his pressing was patchy and he managed only three line-breaking passes across 69 minutes. Trey Nyoni, introduced in the 69th minute, managed four. Lynch felt the youngster simply looked more at home in that role, and we share the view that Nyoni’s case for more minutes is getting harder to ignore. Getting the balance of that midfield right is, for us, the single biggest job left for Iraola this season.
The big-money forwards earn their keep
If the midfield raised questions, the front line answered a few. Bradley Barcola laid on a goal, Alexander Isak scored again, and Florian Wirtz was involved at both ends of the scoring chain with a goal and an assist. There has been plenty of noise about whether the club’s expensive attacking recruits justify their fees, and for one afternoon at least, the reply was emphatic. Lynch put it simply: they delivered.
Wirtz in particular is trending the right way, now on five goal involvements from his last eight outings. Lynch believes the improvement is real rather than a purple patch. Isak, meanwhile, keeps doing what he was signed to do, and his scoring rate this term has been, in Lynch’s words, “absolutely fantastic”.
Dead balls, and why this weekend matters
One quiet positive was the breakthrough from a set piece. Liverpool are still yet to concede from one in the league this season, which is a terrific defensive record, but the attacking side of that equation had been underwhelming. Opening the scoring from a dead ball in a sticky away game is exactly the kind of goal that changes how a match plays out, and Lynch stressed how valuable that was. If it becomes a trend, Iraola gains another route to goals.
The wider context made the result even sweeter. Chelsea were beaten at Sunderland and Manchester City lost to Nottingham Forest, so Liverpool were the side who took advantage of a weekend when rivals stumbled. Lynch argued that away fixtures across the division have become relentlessly tough, which makes the ability to collect points while playing below your best a genuine asset.
That is where we land too. This was not the performance of a finished team, and the midfield issues will be exploited by better opponents than Palace if they are not fixed. But a side that wins on the road while still being worked out is a side with a foundation to build on, and credit for that belongs to Iraola and his players.
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