Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola has responded to criticism of his side’s performance against Brighton after Fabian Hurzeler appeared to take a dig at the Reds on Sunday.
Liverpool secured their first home Premier League win of the season with a 2-0 victory over the high-flying Seagulls at Anfield. Florian Wirtz forced an own goal from Pascal Gross before Alexander Isak doubled the lead in the first half.
The Reds were made to work to protect their advantage after the break, with Brighton enjoying more possession and recording more shots, although only one was on target.
Despite the result, Brighton boss Hurzeler appeared to criticise Liverpool’s approach during his post-match press conference.
“I think everyone in the stadium saw that there was one team who really tried to create and try to win this game and therefore I have to praise my players,” Hurzeler said.
“I think everyone in the stadium, and you as well, felt there was a missed opportunity for us, because it’s not only after the goal or the goals they scored.
“Also, before they scored, we had one or two big chances, and today, I think it was just the difference that they scored and we didn’t score.”
Iraola has now responded to Hurzeler’s claims, insisting he never felt Liverpool were not in control during their victory over Brighton.
“I always said, who controls the game is who controls the chances. It’s not who has the ball,” Iraola said in his press conference on Tuesday ahead of Chelsea’s game. “I think against Brighton, for example, they had the ball more than us, but the ball is spent in their half more than in our half.
“I was really pleased with the performance, but definitely there are things we can improve. We had a good spell in the last 10 minutes, we controlled much better. We had a moment in the second half where we were defending well, but conceding probably too much territory.
“Overall, I would like to play the game like how we played in the first 30, 35 minutes. That’s our goal long-term, but I understand that normally you don’t arrive there. You can extend it, you can have your moments, but I would love it if we can keep this level for all the games.
“Normally, during 90 minutes, you’ll have moments where you have to stay more compact, you have to play differently, and we should be able to differentiate and control the games like this. The other day, I was quite pleased.
“The same way against Villarreal, I felt we had spells where they were controlling us, especially first half, and we weren’t comfortable. But the other day, having the ball or not, I thought the team was more or less in control of the situation.”
Liverpool host Chelsea in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday. Iraola’s side have won their last four matches, including a victory over in-form Brighton at the weekend, and will now look to extend their winning run and secure a place in the quarter-finals.
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