Liverpool’s second alarming collapse in the span of a week led manager Andoni Iraola to admit his team doesn’t yet have the physical capability to play how he wants.
But there isn’t a lot of time to get things right, with the 2024–25 champions opening the new season on the road at Newcastle United only 13 days from now.
Iraola’s Bournemouth had a reputation for being a high intensity, high pressing unit, bearing some similarity to the ‘heavy metal’ soccer Jürgen Klopp once preached at Anfield. When Mohamed Salah appeared to call out Arne Slot shortly before both left the club, his criticism took aim at the more restrained philosophy the Dutchman introduced in his second season.
The problem with what Iraola is trying to imprint on a squad not used to that very demanding style is that it’s not easy. So while Liverpool performed incredibly well for the first 30 minutes against Monaco on Sunday, with the Florian Wirtz-Alexander Isak partnership finally catching the eye, that was all the team had in the tank.
Neat build-up. Cool finish. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/zgQA5jUWO3
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 10, 2026
The Reds led 2–0 and then conceded three goals without reply to lose the match. It was a less spectacular repeat of the previous week’s similar 4–2 defeat to Leeds United in Chicago.
“We played a good first half, especially a good 30 minutes,” Iraola reflected. “Right now, we probably don’t have much more, in terms of the levels required to play like this, and [Monaco] were much better in the second half. They deserved to turn around the game.”
The Liverpool team that started against Monaco was much closer to Iraola’s strongest XI, with the first outing in preseason for Alisson, Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo. New signing Víctor Muñoz also unofficially debuted from the bench in the final half hour.
“It was their first game, and even the ones who are playing the second game, they had energy. The problem right now is they don’t have the energy for 90 minutes,” the boss said.
“They start to get tired, and it will take time for them. We need more training with them. But we can take a lot of positives, but also a lot of negatives.”
Van Dijk Admits Liverpool Have ‘a Lot of Work to Do’
Van Dijk, who turned 35 last month, doesn’t have a partner to start the season with. The center back began Sunday’s match alongside teenager Ifeanyi Ndukwe and briefly played next to Wataru Endo before coming off himself with 60 minutes in the legs.
Joe Gomez, Jérémy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni were all missing because of injury, although there is hope Jacquet might play some part against Como next weekend—either in the friendly arranged behind closed doors or the public match that follows it at Anfield. Liverpool are also in the process of recruiting Ronald Araújo from Barcelona on loan. But none of this is a quick fix.
“It definitely feels like a bit of a transition, for sure,” Van Dijk told reporters.
“It’s down to everyone associated with Liverpool to make sure that we are building something that will be successful for the years to come. This year, we want to be successful, but there’s a lot of work to be done, still, and we all know how difficult it is to be playing in the Premier League, [EFL] Cup, FA Cup, Champions League. We’ll need everyone at their best.”
Liverpool will get fitter and sharper, but it’s tough to see it happening quick enough to make a strong start. Then, it’s about how long it takes for Iraola-ball to bloom. But, already, there’s a danger of 2026–27 becoming a writeoff while the new ideas take hold.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
