Bradley Barcola is “ready to play more” after his debut off the bench on Friday, but Andoni Iraola resisted giving any hints about his starting lineup vs. Atletico Madrid.
Barcola made his Liverpool debut off the bench against Ipswich and quickly set a new Premier League top-speed record, clocking 22.3mph.
The Frenchman’s early signs throughout his 26-minute cameo were positive, and with a desire to see more of him, Iraola was asked in his press conference whether a start was possible at Anfield on Wednesday night.
Do you feel as if you’re going to need to ease him in gently, or do you think he is ready to start a game like this?
Iraola replied: “I think he played overall with extra time (injury time), was 31 [minutes], maybe. I think he’s ready to play more minutes.
“He has been training quite normally. The only thing is he hasn’t had the pre-season minutes that normally players have, and we have to consider this.
“But I see him in a really good place. I think he can play more minutes, definitely.
“I don’t see him as limited; I see him like a normal player with this circumstance that hasn’t had a lot of pre-season minutes to build his form.
“But I saw him playing very well, and I think he’s ready to play more.”
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Barcola had returned to training with Paris Saint-Germain prior to his Liverpool move, but did not feature in any pre-season friendlies or competitive matches.
His outing against Ipswich marked his first minutes since France’s third-place playoff against England in the World Cup on July 18.
Andoni Iraola: ‘My players still don’t know the lineup vs. Atletico’
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, August 29, 2026: Liverpool players walk out before the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, August 29, 2026: Liverpool players walk out before the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Throughout his pre-match press conference, Iraola reiterated that the break between the trip to Ipswich and Atletico Madrid’s visit was favourable, hinting that several changes are not needed.
When asked whether he will be inclined to intentionally rotate with a game every midweek and weekend, Iraola sought to look primarily at the week at hand rather than the bigger picture.
He said: “I will not tell you the starting lineup! You are asking me if I’m gonna make a lot of changes or not.
“Still, my players don’t know the lineup, so I will definitely not tell you.
“But I have to consider we have more games where they are physically [challenged], but I don’t think it’s gonna be the most difficult scenario that I will find this season, because we are coming from playing on Friday, so we’ve had good days of recovery.”
Football – UEFA Champions League – Liverpool FC v Atlético Madrid – MD-1
Football – UEFA Champions League – Liverpool FC v Atlético Madrid – MD-1
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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - Saturday, August 15, 2026: Liverpool's Hadyn Murray-Holme during the U18 Premier League match between Manchester City FC Under-18's and Liverpool FC Under-18's at the Etihad Campus. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)