Our fans' jury return to look back at a mixed week for Liverpool ahead of the final game before the international break
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 15: Trey Nyoni of Liverpool gestures during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on September 15, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images)
Trey Nyoni gestures during the Carabao Cup match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield(Image: Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images)
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Liverpool will look to go into the international break with a victory at Andoni Iraola's former club Bournemouth on Sunday (2pm kick-off).
The Reds will head to the South Coast on the back of a 3-1 Carabao Cup win at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday that extended their unbeaten start and helped lift spirits after the bore 0-0 draw with Fulham at Anfield last Saturday.
That Liverpool look much energised against Spurs after Iraola made 10 changes to his starting line-up will give the new head coach plenty to think about ahead of his first return to Bournemouth.
So, to look ahead to that game, and look back at the two matches already played in the last week, here is our Reds fans' jury.
James Noble
It has been a mixed, yet potentially valuable, few days for Liverpool. In and around Saturday’s disjointed 0-0 draw with an admittedly well-adjusted Fulham and Tuesday’s lively 3-1 Carabao Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur, we saw evidence of the challenges swift turnarounds can produce, the importance of midfield balance and how this squad can get stronger as it plays, amongst other things.
Giorgi Mamardashvili, Joe Gomez, Trey Nyoni, James McConnell and Lewis Koumas all contributed encouragingly within their first starts of 2026/27 in midweek. Dominik Szoboszlai’s Kop End howitzer, meanwhile, already feels one of the moments of the campaign.
Sunday’s trip to Bournemouth will, of course, cue focus on Andoni Iraola’s return to the club he left at the end of last season, where he and they made such great strides. One of those strides means the Cherries will be coming off the first competitive European trip in their history, at Real Sociedad on Thursday night. That context could buoy them but could also help the Reds head into the season’s first – and most extended – international break on another high note.
With four matches – against Manchester City, LASK, Brentford and Villarreal – coming in the space of 10 days when Liverpool return to action next month, the lessons from this last week or so may soon become all the more valuable.
Matt Whitty
Passing around the back has invited teams on, players have carried into crowded areas, and attacks have ended with decisions that leave Liverpool exposed when possession turns over. Against Spurs, midfield felt different.
Alexis Mac Allister looked closer to the player central to the title-winning side, receiving on the half-turn, moving the ball and looking to move it forward. Alongside him, Trey Nyoni looked mature for a 19-year-old, playing with his head up, knowing what was ahead before the ball arrived and rarely looking rushed.
That helped Liverpool play through pressure rather than invite more of it. An early forward pass can take opponents out of the game, force the defensive line backwards and give the next player time.
Perhaps tellingly, Spurs grew back into the game after Nyoni went off around the hour, scoring soon afterwards and threatening an equaliser.
The same judgement is needed further forward too, where Liverpool have sometimes carried into traffic or forced the final pass or shot.
Mac Allister and Nyoni offered a glimpse of a better balance: seeing the next pass early, moving the ball before the opposition can set and keeping control.