RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Andoni Iraola suffering consequences of major Richard Hughes transfer error
Liverpool got their 2026/27 Premier League season off to a rocky start at Newcastle.
A late penalty from Dominik Szoboszlai gave Andoni Iraola’s side a point they might not necessarily have deserved.
Goals from Anthony Elanga and Joe Willock twice put the Toon in the lead - with the opener being cancelled out by Cody Gakpo.
Iraola will be grateful for a cameo from Spain FIFA World Cup winner Victor Munoz - whose pace and industry earned the spotkick in added time.
Liverpool crying out for natural No6
On this showing however it’s going to take time to get this Liverpool exactly where the Basque tactico wants it. The evidence was there as early as the fifth minute when Elanga gave Newcastle the lead.
Szoboszlai and midfield partner Ryan Gravenberch were both caught out upfield for a Magpies counter - with Florian Wirtz appearing as the deepest chasing midfielder.
That spelt disaster for the Reds with Swede Elanga making no mistake after beating Milos Kerkez in a foot race.
Szoboszlai and Gravenberch caught out
Virgil van Dijk and Jeremy Jacquet were left with zero protection from the midfield on that counter - and it wasn’t the only occasion where Szoboszlai or Gravenberch or both were caught too high up the pitch.
Liverpool have made the decision to avoid paying for a specialist No6 in this summer’s transfer window. Having spent £100m on Munoz and Jacquet money is at a premium and likely to go in any case on a new winger or two.
The Anfield club have been making noise about trusting Wataru Endo as a deputy while Trey Nyoni is set to feature a bit more under Iraola.
It’s negligent however for sporting director Richard Hughes to end up with a midfield as unbalanced as this one - especially having sold Curtis Jones to Inter Milan for £30m.
Plenty of midfielders were available
Liverpool are crying out for a natural defensive midfielder. For all their qualities neither Gravenberch nor Szoboszlai are comfortable enough to play at the base of midfield. Another option - Alexis Mac Allister - doesn’t answer the question either.
In a summer where several top midfield signings have been completed around the Premier League it’s scarcely believable that Liverpool have stayed out of the races.
That decision could backfire for Iraola as the season goes on and the defence becomes increasingly exposed.
Richard Hughes will have high-tailed it to Saudi Arabia by that point and it will be the Spanish manager who will be left to face the music.
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