Liverpool are showing ‘signs’ of Andoni Iraola’s front-footed tactical blueprint and are starting tto look like a ‘scary’ proposition for the rest of the Premier League.
That’s according to Ashley Williams, who’s been impressed by the Reds in recent games as they made it four successive wins in all competitions (and eight out of their last 10 matches) with a 2-0 victory over Brighton on Sunday.
The result took the Merseysiders into the top four, six points behind Manchester City and Arsenal in first and second, and LFC could land a direct hit on the Gunners at Anfield next weekend.
Williams: Liverpool beginning to look ‘scary’ under Iraola
Speaking on Match of the Day as he analysed Liverpool’s performance against the Seagulls, Williams highlighted the danger that the Reds pose in attack with so many quick options and with a head coach in Iraola who’s willing to exploit that to its fullest.
The former Everton defender said: “Iraola is the type of manager that defends well. He doesn’t waste time and try to build up too slowly. If he can go fast, with the pace that he has at the top of the pitch, then he does it.
“Now he has got those players like Bradley Barcola, Cody Gakpo, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak. If they are all fit and they are on the pitch, he is not going to waste any time.
“They get the ball forward, they are dynamic, and we know it is difficult to defend against pace, especially pace and willing runners in behind. We are seeing signs of an Iraola team, which is scary for the rest of the league as they just creep up.”
(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust
Liverpool showing very good signs under Iraola
A dozen games into the season, there’s a case to be made that Liverpool haven’t yet produced a truly spellbinding 90-minute performance under Iraola, but it’s difficult to argue with the results that they’ve been getting.
On Sunday we saw a dazzling attacking display for the first half-hour against Brighton, followed by steely defensive resolve in the second half (epitomised by Ronald Araujo) as the Seagulls pushed hard for a route back into the contest.
What we are seeing from the Reds is a healthy distribution of goals across the attack, with Barcola, Gakpo and Isak netting 11 between them and (along with Wirtz) helping each other out with assists, as we saw with the second goal yesterday.
Iraola has made Liverpool far more enjoyable to watch after the melancholy end to Arne Slot’s reign, and although any thoughts of being in a title race seem fanciful for now, a win over Arsenal next weekend would represent a huge statement.
Once we get the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and Hugo Ekitike back from injury, we should become an even stronger proposition. As Williams says, there are definitely some encouraging signs as to what lies ahead under the Basque tactician.