Andoni Iraola admitted that his Liverpool side was unable to control the game with Fulham in the way that he would have liked, with Dominik Szoboszlai among those to struggle
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola was forced to settle for a point on Saturday
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola was forced to settle for a point on Saturday(Image: Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola admitted that his side was unable to control the ball as it would have liked against Fulham, as the Reds struggled to create chances to score.
Alexander Isak had a couple of moments, but nothing more, while Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola were largely quiet. In midfield, Fulham was able to run through with worrying ease in the first half, albeit less so in the second.
"I think what was lacking was quite clear," Iraola said in his post-match press conference. "I think it's the first game since I'm here that we've had problems to create chances to score goals, to make the difference offensively.
"That's the main reason that we couldn't create as many chances as we wanted. We haven't scored a goal and that's why we go with just one point.
"I think there is a lack of freshness, definitely — we cannot hide it. I think it's the worst turnaround in terms of 60-something hours between the games, after a very big game the other day.
"But this is going to happen more times. Maybe with one more day but sometimes it's going to be the same way during the season. We have to adapt to these circumstances.
Alexander Isak and Antonee Robinson during Liverpool vs Fulham
Alexander Isak and Antonee Robinson during Liverpool vs Fulham(Image: Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
"And it's these kind of games that you need to win sometimes with a set-play, sometimes with the shot from the edge, sometimes from a moment of brilliance from the offensive players, and we haven't had that today.
"We've been clearly not as good offensively as we've been [in] other days."
In midfield, without Alexis Mac Allister in the starting XI, Liverpool struggled to properly control things. Ryan Gravenberch didn't grab the game by the scruff of the neck, while Dominik Szoboszlai was wasteful in his passing.
"I think today, especially first half, we were arriving late to the presses — it's clear," Iraola admitted.
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"I think we improved this part a lot in the second half. With better structures, I think we controlled better the game in the second half, even without scoring the goal, but I was feeling more comfortable.
"Even if we haven't been incredible in that aspect, we've struggled sometimes, I think we haven't also conceded clear chances. I think the one we concede is the one that we mess up in the goal-kick.
"That's, I think, the clear chance we concede. From there, I think that we've defended quite well. We've given us the chances in terms of keeping the clean sheet.
"We've had probably our best chances coming from set-plays, the crossbar, the one from Alex [Isak] I remember in the second half. But not clear enough or not to have been able to score the goal that you need in this kind of game where you are not brilliant."