**Andoni Iraola’s first Premier League game in charge of Liverpool was an eventful 2-2 draw against Newcastle United at St James’ Park.**
Matthias Jaissle’s side played some good football to take the lead twice through Anthony Elanga and Joe Willock, but the Reds struck back through Cody Gakpo and Dom Szoboszlai to salvage a point.
After the game, a lot was said about their midfield as the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Szoboszlai appeared to venture forward more than protect the backline.
And Iraola feels fans and pundits made a mountain out of a molehill in terms of Liverpool’s midfield frailties.
“Not surprised, I expected when I came here that everything would be magnified,” said the Spaniard in his pre-match press conference.
“I’m starting to understand. But it’s just one game where we did a lot of very good things, even the players in midfield did, but there are definitely things we need to improve. Now it’s a matter of myself and coaching staff and players.
“It’s football. You go to the goals always. If you make exactly the same mistake then it’s normal and I understand we have to talk about the defensive transitions.
“I thought we improved during the game in that aspect, were much, much better getting the numbers.
“I think the first goal is more to blame than the second in terms of how we positioned when we lost the ball. We will \[soon\] be talking about something else.”
It’s been only one competitive game under the new manager, so it goes without saying that the Reds are still a work in progress.
The Spaniard is trying to implement his ideas and it will take a while before fans and pundits can pass definitive judgements.