This time last week, Liverpool fans were looking at the upcoming fixtures as a means to measure how far Andoni Iraola’s Reds have come in terms of implementing their project. Now, with two losses on the trot, fans are hoping that they can arrest the mini-slide before the international break.
Last week, Liverpool managed back-to-back losses for the first time in what feels like forever. First, Liverpool put up a rather decent fight against the reigning Premier League Champions, putting together a higher
xG before eventually losing to the Gunners 1-nil. It’s the kind of result that, if taken in isolation, one could argue shows that Liverpool are trending in the right direction: they tested the champs and looked decent. It’s not, say, as good a performance as pre-red card Manchester City, but it was more than capable.
Which is really a big deal. Iraola’s task seemed big given how disjointed this club has looked for most of 2026. And even if you believed, as I do, that this club has far too much talent for results not to come eventually, it’s still certainly been great to experience a version of Liverpool that doesn’t make you worried that they’d be completely outworked and out thought even before the first kick. In many ways, it’s just great to watch a competent Liverpool.
And while the result against Arsenal isn’t what we would have wanted, at least the play on the pitch felt akin to a club that might be on the cusp of becoming a real threat to the top tier. It would mean Liverpool could begin to be considered, again, to be among the most dangerous clubs in the league.
How, then, can we talk about the meaning of Liverpool’s 3-2 loss to Fenerbache in the Champions League? Well, friends, this is where I might euphemistically say that the story gets a bit complicated. Which is also me trying to find a way not to be too frustrated by whatever that result was.
The short hand, I think, is that having a couple of bad results come back-to-back happens to all teams – Manchester City have lost two out of their last three in league play, for example. And while losing to Brighton isn’t a shameful result, an inquest would be launched if Liverpool were to have lost to Nottingham Forest, who’d been mired at the bottom-end of the table.
I think, if I want to be a measured in my anxiety, the issue that the Fenerbache result raises is whether Liverpool have figured out an answer to their overall tactical balance. I’m not even complaining about the Reds sometimes getting out of the blocks slow, but rather that the team hasn’t fully developed its ability to impose control on a match in order to kill off the opponent’s ability to pull momentum back on their side. Some of that, I know, requires time and given that the club have had to put young Trey Nyoni into the starting eleven in each of the past two matches, might also require more experience for what is generally a young Liverpool team.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not a real issue that needs to be ironed out before we improve. The issue, I think, stems from Iraola’s desire to tilt the field forward and his bravado in terms of unapologetically pushing for all three points. I have been a fan of the substitutions that have seen, for example, the likes of Victor Muñoz end up at right-back in search of a goal. It’s clear that’s Iraola’s pre-disposition and I don’t want to change that necessarily. It’s clear, though, that the club will need to find a way to ensure they don’t lose control in matches and learn to truly kill off an opponent when we hold the lead.
Turning our attention to Crystal Palace on Sunday, the hope will be that the club will have found some answers to the questions of balance and thrust. Expectations will be sky high for a big result given that Palace are currently in the relegation zone. Their most direct rivals for a top 4 place is Chelsea, who’ll be kicking off at the same time against another relegation place-holder in Sunderland. It will be vital for the club to claim all three points and bring some momentum with them into the international break. Especially given that the first fixture following the break is a derby match against Manchester United.
Here’s hoping Iraola gets the calls right tomorrow – I’m currently racking my brain as to how I might organize the midfield specifically. Ryan Gravenberch’s availability might make that decision a little easier, but otherwise it’s not entirely all straight forward. We’re a club in need of a boost and facing an opponent that is currently struggling. Here’s hoping we are able to take advantage and, headed into the break, we will all have something to celebrate.
