Liverpool have taken 18 points from their first 10 Premier League games under new head coach Andoni Iraola, with five wins, three draws and two defeats. Both losses came at home in contentious circumstances to last season's title contenders Arsenal and Manchester City.
The Reds sit in the top four, a reason for encouragement given the tumult of last season that cost Arne Slot his job and ushered in the Iraola era. However, a deeper dive points to areas for clear improvement and others where the new head coach is already having a positive impact.
Comparing Starts of Past Liverpool Bosses
Iraola's start ranks well compared to previous Liverpool managers, though context must be considered. Jurgen Klopp took 15 points from his first 10 games when replacing Brendan Rodgers in 2015/16, while Rodgers had opened his reign in 2012 with 11 points from a possible 30.
Kenny Dalglish's two spells began strongly, taking 21 points in 1985 and 20 in 2011, the latter replacing Roy Hodgson who earned only 12 points from his first 10 Premier League games. Treble-winning boss Joe Fagan took 20 points, while Bob Paisley earned 19 when adjusting for three points for a win.
Of the rest, Rafael Benitez earned 17, Gerard Houllier 19, the joint role between Houllier and Roy Evans took 16 points, while Evans himself took only 10 points from his first 10 top-flight matches. Graeme Souness had secured 16 either side of the summer of 1991 after eventually replacing Dalglish.
Home and Away Contrast
The best start came from Iraola's predecessor Slot, who led Liverpool to 25 points from a possible 30 en route to winning the club's 20th and arguably most unexpected championship. The Dutchman benefited from taking over a promising squad well-prepared by Klopp, similar to how Paisley in the 1970s and both Fagan and Dalglish in the 1980s inherited an already winning team.
In that respect, Iraola's Premier League start has been an undoubted success, with the obvious standout being an away record of 13 points from 15, which matches Liverpool's best-ever opening to a league season on the road. Defeats at Bournemouth, Brentford and Crystal Palace last term have been transformed into victories.
At Anfield, however, is where the concern lies, with just five points from the first five home games, their worst such tally since Rodgers' first season in 2012/13. It continues the trend that began to emerge under Slot, with Liverpool having won just five of their 15 home league games this calendar year.
Defensive Improvement and Attacking Concerns
Liverpool have at least become more stingy defensively, conceding at an average of a goal a game compared to last season when they shipped 53 times in 38 matches. The Reds kept only 10 clean sheets in the top flight last season and already have four this time around.
While they are leaking more shots per game - 12.9 compared to 11.4 last term - the other defensive statistics underline Liverpool are becoming a far more combative, physical team. The average number of tackles per game has gone up from 13 to 15.6, interceptions elevated from 6.9 to 10.1, and the number of fouls per game booming from 10.1 up to 14.6, the highest in the division.
Making Liverpool harder to beat has clearly been Iraola's first aim, as the increase in attacking statistics is negligible. Indeed, the total of 14 goals after 10 games is their lowest in 11 years. Possession per game has dropped from 59.3% to 52.9% and passing accuracy from 85.7% to 82.7%, a total below almost half of the Premier League. Urgency has come at the initial expense of precision, though both numbers are significantly higher than anything Bournemouth managed under three years with Iraola in charge.
It is not too difficult, then, to see where Iraola has made the greatest immediate impact, and where the latest stage of his development for this Liverpool team should come over the next 10 Premier League games.
