Bradley Barcola Slices to the Heart of Liverpool’s Issues Under Andoni Iraola
Liverpool forward Bradley Barcola admitted that his side needed greater “control” in Sunday’s defeat to Arsenal, an approach he believes will help in similar matches moving forward. The Reds manager Andoni Iraola, however, is revered for his facilitation of chaos.
The Merseyside outfit head into Wednesday’s Champions League clash away to Fenerbahçe with a perfect league phase record to maintain.
Having so far overcome Atlético Madrid, LASK and Villarreal with varying degrees of comfort, Liverpool sit pretty toward the top of the continental table. They’re well on track to earn a top-eight finish for the third consecutive season, thus avoiding two extra games in the new year.
Results certainly haven’t been the issue for Iraola at the start of his Liverpool tenure, with Arne Slot’s successor overseeing just two defeats across all competitions. Their pristine record in Europe has been complemented by a Carabao Cup quarterfinal berth, as well as a respectable fifth-place standing in the Premier League.
But it remains evident that the Merseysiders are a work-in-progress under their new manager. Positive results have masked teething issues, and although Liverpool were excellent for a spell in a rare home defeat to champions Arsenal at the weekend, the Gunners reminded the Reds that, despite their huge outlays in back-to-back summers, they’re still some way from competing fiercely for the title.
How Bradley Barcola Wants Liverpool to Improve
“I think we need to work on being able to control the game more and play more football," Barcola told Sky Sports a matter of days after the Anfield reverse. “Often, when we’re in a game like this [vs. Arsenal], we resort to long balls. But in my opinion, we should try to keep the ball on the ground more, because we have players with the quality to do that.”
Liverpool’s best work against the Gunners arrived after they went a goal down, with their intensity out of possession shackling their visitors. The Reds dominated the ball and sustained pressure, recording a staggering 30 touches in Arsenal’s box without notching a shot on target in the first half. Alexis Mac Allister should’ve headed the hosts level before halftime.
Mikel Arteta reset after the interval and Arsenal settled, completely stymying their once-exuberant hosts. Barcola rarely had success one-on-one, even refusing to take Jurrïen Timber on at times. They toiled against a deep-lying defense, and the champions saw out their victory with relative comfort.
“Control” didn’t appear to be the issue for Liverpool on Sunday. In other matches, sure, but not here. Still, Barcola’s issue with “long balls” does carry some weight. The Reds were successful with just 25% of such passes, per FotMob, completing just 11. They were also able to complete only 11% of their attempted crosses.
Barcola’s profile isn’t suited to compromising compact defenses, even if he’s an excellent mover without the ball. He times runs in behind superbly, and the ball-dominant PSG were able to foster the conditions for Barcola to thrive.
Iraola is unlikely to change his ways. Their average possession share ranks seventh in the Premier League, per Opta, and they’ve also recorded the joint-10th-highest number of through balls (17). Perhaps an increase in that tally will aid Barcola, who’s still awaiting his first Premier League goal.
Barcola Makes Mohamed Salah Comparison
While Barcola was signed for huge money, becoming Liverpool’s third-most expensive arrival ever, his preference for playing down the left meant he wasn’t universally regarded as a direct Mohamed Salah replacement.
Salah left Anfield at the end of last season, eventually signing for Trabzonspor on a free transfer.
The modern-day Liverpool icon left an irreplaceable void, yet Barcola doesn’t feel any pressure to mitigate the Egyptian’s departure: “Regarding Mo Salah, he’s a legend here. A huge one. He’s done big things here, and for that I have an enormous respect for him. But it’s not pressure for me at all.
“I’m not Mohamed Salah, so I’m going to try to contribute whatever I can to the club and make my own mark on its history. I don’t feel any pressure about that,” the assured Frenchman insisted.
Despite scoring a hat trick at LASK in the Champions League, Barcola is still awaiting lift-off on Merseyside. A first Premier League goal is yet to be struck, but he does have a pair of assists to his name in the competition, both for Alexander Isak, who, at the start of 2026–27, has at least shown a semblance of why Liverpool were willing to make him their record signing two summers ago.
