On balance, Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at Newcastle on Sunday in their Premier League opener was probably fair on balance for a game in which the visiting Reds held more of the possession and took more shots but where their opponents had more clear cut chances created through a series of dangerous breaks and counters.
It was also a game that showed both some of the promise of new head coach Andoni Iraola’s desire to return to a more uptempo, aggressive approach after last season’s often dull and reactive
football under Arne Slot while also serving to highlight just how short of requirement the squad he has been given to work with still is.
“I think because you score at the end you probably have a better taste,” Iraola said of his takeaways from his first competitive match in charge. “Before the game we wouldn’t have signed this result probably, but it is true I think it is a reward because we’ve put a lot of pressure against Newcastle and had to wait until the end.
“But I think we’ve done more than enough to score the goal. And I think if we could have scored earlier probably the run of the game was for us. The stats were for us in terms of we’ve created more, better chances and this. But it’s true that they can say, we were winning, we didn’t need to push, we were defending our result.”
If you turned on the game hoping to see shoots of promise, you got a few—not least seeing a Liverpool side that pushed until the end to equalise rather than falling apart. If you turned it on worried about the state of the squad, the lack of attacking options and fullback options and midfield options, well, it didn’t much help.
With just a week left to go in the summer transfer window, sporting director Richard Hughes has left it very, very late to get the necessary deals across the line—including a winger will need to at least match Mohamed Salah’s goal or assist every 140 minutes last season to justify Hughes’ decision to push the club legend out.
Beyond the so-called Salah replacement, a second winger is required. Having sold Curtis Jones, a midfielder is required, and preferably one who can help to effectively screen the defence. Right back, with the diminutive and defensively liable Jeremie Frimpong and often injured Conor Bradley options, is a point of concern.
Having struggled through last season with a squad both thin and unbalanced, Liverpool kicked off their 2026-27 Premier League season opener with a squad thinner and still just as unbalanced, and Sunday highlighted the potential folly of moving on from aging and fading veterans if you then fail to properly replace them.
That means there’s lots to do between now and Saturday’s home opener against Nottingham Forest. And then Tuesday, September 1st’s Deadline Day. Still, the window for Hughes to make things right isn’t closed just yet. And at least we saw proof that Iraola’s appointment would bring with it more attacking intent.
“I’ve liked a lot of things about the team in terms of putting pressure,” Iraola noted. “We haven’t finished the moves—we’ve had a lot of balls on the edge of the box, inside the box, where we haven’t finished the play, we haven’t shot. Actually, they punished us in the first goal because we don’t finish and it’s a clear chance.
“There are different reasons why we conceded both goals, even though both are transitions. The first one I think we should just finish the play. I think we created a great chance. I think it’s a four vs. three, we are on the edge of the box, and it’s a clear situation to shoot. We decide not to shoot and then Elanga wins the race.
“Second one I think we had the numbers to defend it better but then we didn’t defend it properly. We should compete for the first ball, probably even make a foul and be a little bit more aggressive against the ball carrier because we had numbers to defend it. So it’s not a lot, just the one point, but at least it’s something.”
