Bradley Barcola made his Liverpool debut with a cameo performance in a 2-0 win over Ipswich Town in the Premier League
Bradley Barcola before a Liverpool match
Bradley Barcola made his Liverpool debut(Image: Adam Davy/PA Wire)
View Image
Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola has explained why he was impressed with Bradley Barcola's cameo performance during the win over Ipswich Town. The Reds claimed a 2-0 victory at Portman Road on Friday night to get their first victory in the Premier League this season.
Alexander Isak scored both goals for Liverpool in the opening 10 minutes as Iraola and Co. managed to also keep their first clean sheet of the campaign.
Barcola was named on the bench by Iraola for the France international’s first match since completing a £123million transfer from Paris Saint-Germain earlier this week.
The winger was introduced to the game in the second half when he replaced fellow summer signing Victor Munoz, and went on to take his place on the left wing for the rest of the match.
Despite Barcola getting just half an hour under his belt in a Liverpool shirt, Iraola liked what he saw from the new signing, but expressed caution over the 24-year-old’s match fitness and also had a message for the rest of the squad.
"He [Barcola] has had good minutes, a good pass in a counter, a good couple of chances when he was going against the goalkeeper and we haven't found him,” Iraola told Sky Sports.
"We need to learn these movements because he will be there threatening in behind all the time. But he looks confident on the ball as always.
"He hadn't played any competitive minutes since the World Cup so we had to be a little bit more careful."
*FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE!All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page*
Barcola will get the chance to make his home debut for Liverpool when the Reds face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The France international has already played at Anfield twice in his career during his time at PSG, and will hope to get more minutes under his belt when Liverpool take on Atletico Madrid in midweek.
After that, Liverpool will face Fulham in the Premier League a few days later, where it remains to be seen if Iraola will hand Barcola his first start since signing for the Reds.
Content Image
Content Image