Andoni Iraola has opened up about the selection dilemmas he faces in his Liverpool team, while Steven Gerrard has identified a profound lack of confidence as the root cause of Florian Wirtz's inconsistency at Anfield.
Liverpool responded to their recent 3-0 defeat by Manchester City with a 6-3 victory over LASK, securing their second Champions League win of the campaign. Bradley Barcola scored his first senior hat-trick, while Jeremie Frimpong, Kostas Tsimikas and Ronald Araujo contributed to goals. However, three late goals conceded past Alisson Becker highlighted ongoing defensive frailties.
Iraola on Frimpong and Araujo contrast
Liverpool's six-goal haul in Austria featured four goal contributions from defenders Frimpong and Araujo. The Dutchman registered two assists and a goal, while Araujo netted his maiden strike for the club. Five of Araujo's nine appearances have come at right-back owing to Frimpong's defensive vulnerabilities and Conor Bradley's ongoing injury absence.
Nevertheless, the pair lined up alongside one another on Wednesday, and Iraola acknowledged that the striking contrast between their respective styles at right-back has a notable impact on the team's overall performance. He said after full-time: "It is clear the difference in the team when we play with Jeremie and Ronald. The demands we put on the players are completely different. Jeremie helps us more offensively as he can arrive in the final third positions, but that does leave more space behind because you can't cover everything."
"Ronald is the opposite because he is more comfortable defending as a center-back, but he doesn't give us the runs in behind, overlaps, or the options that Jeremie does. It is about us seeing what we need from the game, but we need to keep them both in a good place so we have those options during games. Until we recover Conor, I am happy to have those options."
Gerrard on Wirtz's confidence
Steven Gerrard has suggested that a profound lack of confidence is the root cause of Florian Wirtz's inconsistency at Liverpool. The 23-year-old has failed to justify his hefty £116million price tag since arriving at Anfield last year. Wirtz produced his most encouraging display of the season in midweek, teeing up Barcola's second goal of the evening, yet he still remains without a goal of his own in the 2026/27 campaign.
The former Reds skipper spoke candidly about Wirtz's predicament on the Stick to Football podcast, yet remained adamant that the German international can still fulfil his potential at Anfield. "I am not denying that he is underperforming and that we should have seen a lot more given his price tag," Gerrard said. "But I just think there is a chance, and it's happened previously, that players can turn it around. I think he's got the talent to turn it around, but his confidence is shot at the moment."
