Andoni Iraola has now collected two wins from his opening five Premier League matches in charge of Liverpool, with the former Bournemouth boss looking for more improvement
Andoni Iraola leaves the pitch after Liverpool won at Bournemouth.
Andoni Iraola leaves the pitch after Liverpool won at Bournemouth.(Image: Robin Jones - AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola felt that his side did enough to justify taking the victory against Bournemouth on Sunday, with Alexander Isak netting the winner from close range in the second half.
Until that point, the game had been very even. But when Liverpool took the lead, it was able to hold on with Jeremy Jacquet and Virgil van Dijk standing strong at the back, keeping a third consecutive clean sheet.
"I think it was (a deserved win)," Iraola said in his post-match press conference. "I was disappointed with the first 20, 25 minutes — I think we didn't start the game with the intensity the game required.
"But to win here is very difficult; I know it very well. Normally, Bournemouth start really strong and it took us these 20, 25 minutes until we matched a little bit this level.
"From there, I think at the end of the first half and second half we played better, we had better situations with the ball and we could win the game."
So far this season, Liverpool has nine points from a possible 15 — drawing three times and winning twice. That is a solid if unspectacular base from which to kick on from, though a much more testing fixture schedule lies ahead.
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola.
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola.(Image: Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images)
"I think overall we've improved, definitely since the first games," Iraola added. "Some of the things we still need to improve, more things.
"I am happy it is the third clean sheet in a row in the league. Today is a kind of difficult game, I knew you never play comfortably here.
"Bournemouth don't allow you to play comfortably normally, they put you under pressure and you have to adapt and you have to win this kind of game.
"But we still have to get ready because the schedule that we have now, it's very difficult. I think we are playing against top-four teams and then in between Champions League and then in between Chelsea in the Carabao [Cup].
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"Everything in two, three days. So we have to get ready because this next month, after this break, it's going be very demanding for us."
Liverpool.com says: So far, the Reds have done reasonably well. With much harder games around the corner, though, the really big tests are still to come.
By the time the November international break comes around, we should have a very clear idea of what might be possible for Liverpool this term.
Iraola will hope to get plenty more development done before then, with plenty of questions (including, but not limited to, how to use Florian Wirtz, and whether the squad depth is sufficient) still to be fully answered.