Liverpool secured their first Premier League victory of the season on Friday night, defeating Ipswich Town 2-0 at Portman Road in Andoni Iraola’s first league win as Reds boss.
However, despite the comfortable scoreline, Ipswich manager Gary O’Neil has admitted that one aspect of Liverpool’s approach during the game left him frustrated.
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Alexander Isak was the difference between the two sides, with the Swedish striker scoring twice inside the opening nine minutes to put Liverpool firmly in control.
Both goals were assisted by Cody Gakpo, who continued his impressive start to the campaign.
Liverpool were able to manage the game effectively after their blistering opening, eventually securing a clean sheet and giving Iraola his first victory since taking charge.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, O’Neil compared Liverpool’s approach to the treatment Ipswich have received in previous fixtures, particularly during their recent trip to Manchester United.
The Ipswich boss took issue with how long Liverpool were seemingly allowed to take over restarts, believing his side should have been given the same treatment.
“We’ve been pushed on timewasting a lot,” O’Neil said.
“My goalkeeper is being hurried up at Old Trafford to kick the ball when we weren’t even set and I felt they [Liverpool] were able to kill the game a lot easier here.
“That upset me a bit. They could have been hurried up a little bit more.”
Despite his frustration, O’Neil was keen to stress that he had no major complaints about the officials, with the Ipswich manager praising their overall performance.
“But I thought the officials did a good job though,” he added.
“VAR arrived to a good conclusion for the penalty.”
The penalty incident O’Neil referred to came in the second half, when Liverpool appeared to have been awarded a spot-kick after Dominik Szoboszlai went down in the box.
However, VAR intervened and referee Darren England overturned the decision after determining that Szoboszlai had been offside in the build-up.
While Ipswich ultimately left the pitch without a point, O’Neil has insisted there were plenty of positives to take from his side’s response after conceding twice so early.
For Liverpool, meanwhile, the attention now turns towards building momentum under Iraola following their first victory of the new campaign.
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