Andoni Iraola, head coach of Liverpool and Luke Chambers of Liverpool react at full time after the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between Liverpool FC and Atletico de Madrid at Anfield
Andoni Iraola, head coach of Liverpool and Luke Chambers of Liverpool react at full time after the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between Liverpool FC and Atletico de Madrid at Anfield (Image: 2026 Molly Darlington)
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Liverpool might have signed a back-to-back Champions League winner in Bradley Barcola last month, but that experience is somewhat lacking elsewhere across the rest of their squad.
Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Joe Gomez are now the only survivors from the Reds’ last win in the tournament back in 2019, while Kostas Tsimikas is the only other player in the camp to have experienced a final - having been an unused substitute in 2022.
Liverpool could find themselves without the quartet come next summer though, with all four players set to be out of contract at Anfield in 2027.
The Reds might have reached three finals in five years under Jurgen Klopp, but an unprecedented amount of turnover in recent years means a changing of the guard is now almost complete.
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And with last season’s quarter-final defeat the furthest Liverpool have progressed in Europe since that 2022 final defeat to Real Madrid, it is clear the new generation are going to have to learn on the job and they are going to have to learn fast.
As the Reds opened their latest European campaign with a 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid, Rio Ngumoha was handed his first Champions League start while Jeremy Jacquet, Victor Munoz and Lewis Koumas all made their debuts in the competition.
Meanwhile, a look at the substitutes and a lack of experience and depth was conspicuous by its absence with Tsimikas, Munoz, Ryan Gravenberch, Jeremie Frimpong, Giorgi Mamardashvili and third-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman the most senior players held in reserve on an 11-man bench.
Alongside them sat academy graduates Koumas, Trey Nyoni, Jayden Danns, James McConnell and Luke Chambers.
Between them prior to kick-off they boasted just six Champions League appearances with Nyoni called upon as a substitute four times and Danns and McConnell starting a sole dead-rubber against PSV Eindhoven in January 2025.
Yes, Liverpool have injuries with Cody Gakpo absent from abductor issues, Gomez not yet fit to return despite returning to training, Giovanni Leoni only pencilled to return to team training following an ACL injury during the next international break and Hugo Ektike and Conor Bradley both long-term absentees.
Elsewhere, Federico Chiesa is also currently sidelined but is ineligible for Champions League action regardless as, along with Wataru Endo, neither were named in the Reds’ European squad.
But it is hardly an abundance of talent waiting in the wings to make an imminent return. There is no cavalry waiting to arrive.
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Andoni Iraola, who was also managing his first ever Champions League match, has taken over a Liverpool side at a very different point in its cycle from the all-conquering mentality monsters of just a few short years ago.
Yes, his squad boasts some of the most expensive players in Reds history and a number of Premier League winners too. But Liverpool have had to take a step back in hope of soon embarking on future steps forward.
They might have been pot one regulars in Champions League draws in recent years, but they have slowly started to slip down the coefficients. Meanwhile, there has been no famous Anfield European night since their 4-0 comeback victory over Barcelona in the semi-finals back in 2019.
They are no longer the side that every European team dreads to face. It is time for Iraola’s side to write their own history. Beating Atletico Madrid is a positive start.
Ngumoha was in awe of the Anfield crowd on Wednesday as Liverpool came from behind to beat Diego Simeone’s men. But coming in a league phase opener, if the Reds are to reach their pomp once more, the teenager has seen nothing yet.
This is just the start of the story. And unlike under Iraola’s predecessor, Arne Slot, it feels like the club's academy will again be a vital part of that.
With Liverpool’s numbers a little stretched, the Spaniard has had to put his faith in some of the club’s young starlets. With the likes of Koumas grabbing the opportunity with both hands during the summer, so far such faith is paying off.
Slot was regularly criticised for not making more use of the club’s academy - especially after taking over only a few months on from ‘Klopp’s kids’ beating Chelsea in the 2024 League Cup final.
But Iraola understands its importance. How could he not, given his Athletic Bilbao roots - a club famous for still only calling upon players with Basque heritage.
The Spaniard was regularly seen talking to the academy starlets sat behind him on the bench against Atletico, and even passed on his tactical notes and encouraged them all to read them for a better understanding of what his Liverpool is trying to achieve.
Beating Atletico is one thing but Iraola wants his next generation ready for the future.
The Champions League final takes place at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid in 2027 - the venue of the Reds’ last win in the tournament eight seasons ago. It would be somewhat romantic if Liverpool were to return there again next June.
Romantic, but perhaps not realistic given the lack of experience and depth.
The Reds will not give up on such a dream, of course. But with the future seemingly back in safe hands at least, they might have to play a longer-term game.