LASK v Liverpool FC - UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD2
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Liverpool’s Champions League player ratings vs LASK as Bradley Barcola runs riot in Linz](https://www.rousingthekop.com/2026/10/14/liverpools-champions-league-player-ratings-vs-lask-as-reds-run-riot-in-linz/)
LASK v Liverpool FC - UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD2
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LASK v Liverpool FC - UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD2
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LASK v Liverpool FC - UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD2
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LASK v Liverpool FC - UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD2
Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
Liverpool v Manchester City - Premier League 2026/27
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Liverpool FC Training Session
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Liverpool FC v AFC Bournemouth - Premier League
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Real Madrid legend Toni Kroos faced Liverpool at the absolute peak of their powers when Jurgen Klopp was in charge.
Since Klopp’s exit from the Anfield dugout in 2024, Liverpool have had Arne Slot in charge, and now Andoni Iraola, but Kroos isn’t impressed.
Whilst Liverpool won the title under Slot, that very same team declined last season, and now, ahead of the trip to Austria to face LASK in the Champions League, Kroos told Luppen TV that what he has seen from the Reds is ‘underwhelming.’
The problem is that Kroos isn’t just basing it on what he has seen in the last few months, but on what Liverpool have been doing since the start of last season.
READ MORE:Joe Cole comes to a sad conclusion about Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool after Man City loss
Andoni Iraola has been called the ‘right man at the wrong time’ for Liverpool 😑 What are your thoughts on Iraola and the current squad? Patience is key, right?
Credit: Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
Tijuana are looking 30 million for Mora James a complete bargain then Kees Smit available for 40 to 45 million, they are both incredible talents for their age and they could easily be world class talents at Liverpool, nyoni was outstanding earlier against Lask, then sign Lamine camara in January, Alex Scott is not worth the 100 million, Chelsea can have him.
@keithsmyth376 I like that actually Keith, get after the young talents and build them into superstars. Has always suited us better
It's Time to drop Wirtz, Iraola is the right man for the job as he's making ammends for the balls up that Slot and Hughes left us with, sell Wirtz and Frimpong in January, the money that we get we can buy Mora from Tijuana and Kees Smit from Alkmaar 2 generational talents for the price of 2 duds, Iraola will sort this out in January.
Toni Kroos critical of Liverpool’s decline post Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool beat Real Madrid at Anfield last season at the start of November; not long before, the team had been beaten by Manchester United on home soil.
That’s when the question marks and doubts started around Slot, and in the end, they proved to be correct after he was booted out in the summer.
But despite the arrival of Bournemouth’s free-flowing attacking coach Iraola, Kroos doesn’t like what he sees, and he wanted to put the defeat to Manchester City from the weekend aside.
From Kroos’ perspective, Liverpool have a ‘very good squad’, but he doesn’t think it has been reflected on the field of play.
Added to that, and speaking from experience, Kroos stated how, coming up against a Klopp side, ‘you couldn’t escape them’, but now all of that has gone out the window.
“Honestly, I think Liverpool’s performances have been pretty underwhelming for months now,” said Kroos. “And I don’t want to keep coming back to how much they’ve spent, because, of course, they’ve spent a lot. They’ve also got a good squad.
“And I’m not just talking about the Manchester City game. They genuinely have a really, really good squad. They have a very good squad for the way they want to play, too. But they haven’t been able to make it work for a long time now.
“That was actually Liverpool’s great strength: you always had the feeling that, as an opponent, you couldn’t escape them. You felt like you were being eaten alive. Even under Klopp, I think there were plenty of occasions when opponents looked at Liverpool and thought, ‘Oh, here we go. Strap yourselves in, because we’re going to have to get through this.’
“But now that feeling is only there in flashes. I honestly can’t tell you exactly why that is. In my opinion, it can’t be down to the quality of the players, because the quality is there.
Of course, how the squad is put together is always a question. We’re not close enough to the team to know exactly what things are like inside the dressing room.
“But look at the results. Last season was already very disappointing, and now, after six games — or perhaps seven already — you’re sitting on around nine points. I’m not entirely sure of the exact figures. That’s where things stand at the moment. I don’t know.
“With a lot of luck, you might qualify for the Champions League. And if you look back three or four years, the question was always whether City or Liverpool would win the title.”
Not a good look for Slot or Iraola
Slot is out of the door, so it isn’t his worry now, even though he will wonder what his legacy at Anfield is, because it seems tarnished.
This is despite winning a title at Liverpool, and in over three decades, only two men have been able to do that at England’s most successful club.
But this Kroos criticism welcomes Iraola to the big world of football and being judged on nearly everything.
You could argue that things are in the balance in the Premier League; while the team picked up a nervy win over Atletico Madrid, this upcoming LASK clash is going to be very tricky and awkward.