Liverpool head into the final international break of the calendar year in fourth place in the Premier League after their 3-1 win over Crystal Palace last weekend.
New manager Andoni Iraola has won five of his first ten league games in charge of the Reds and has qualified for the quarter-finals of the League Cup.
Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
Whilst it has been far from a perfect season so far, the Spanish head coach has the club in a good position in the league and in the cup after joining from Bournemouth.
He led the Cherries to a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League in the 2025/26 campaign, and arrived at Anfield as a coach who had already proven himself in the division.
Iraola's biggest problem at Liverpool
Iraola's biggest problem at Anfield so far this season has been the team's lack of consistent creativity, as they rank 17th in the league for 'big chances' created, having only had 17, five of which came in the recent 3-1 win over Palace.
The Spaniard plays a high-intensity, counter-pressing, and counter-attacking system that relies on winning the ball high up the pitch to create high-quality chances.
Unfortunately, an issue with that at Liverpool is that a lot of teams sit in and look to play on the counter against them, which means that the Reds do not have as many opportunities to win the ball high up the pitch to create chances.
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2026/27 Premier League Liverpool Club rank
Goals per game 1.4 8th
Big chances 17 17th
Accurate crosses per match 4.0 13th
Possession won in final third per game 4.0 7th
Accurate passes per game 374 8th
xG 15.8 6th
This means that they have more situations where they need to break down a low block, and Iraola dealt with that at the Vitality stadium by having the individual quality to step up in those moments.
Antoine Semenyo scored 31 goals and provided 13 assists in 91 games for the boss, whilst Eli Junior Kroupi racked up 13 goals in 35 matches last term for him.
Iraola's new Semenyo has announced himself at Liverpool
Liverpool's attack has improved in recent weeks, scoring five goals and creating nine 'big chances' in the last two games, and that has partially been because Iraola's new Semenyo has finally announced himself.
Liverpool-Mac-Allister-Ngumoha-Nyoni-Tsimikas-Gravenberch-Koumas-Araujo
The Reds splashed the cash to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of £116m in the summer of 2025 to bolster Arne Slot's side after they won the Premier League.
Unfortunately, the big-money addition did not enjoy a successful first season at Anfield, as he only scored seven goals and provided eight assists in 49 appearances in all competitions.
He has faced criticism at times for his lack of productivity on the ball since making the move. The Red Kop podcaster Paul Salt described his "frustrating" use of the ball as "really sloppy", whilst Mike Hughes noted that he has faced "intense" scrutiny on Merseyside.
Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
The Germany international has had to deal with a lot of talk about his performances and how many goals and assists he has produced throughout his time at Liverpool so far.
His form in recent weeks, though, suggests that he is finally finding his feet at Anfield and he looks to have announced himself as Iraola's new Semenyo.
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Vs Crystal Palace Florian Wirtz
Minutes 90
xG 0.37
Goals 1
Big chances created 1
Assists 1
Dribbles completed 2/4
Ball recoveries 7
He has produced two goals and three assists in his last five starts for Liverpool in all competitions, including a goal and an assist in the 3-1 win over Palace last weekend.
His last goal before he converted Bradley Barcola's cross against the Eagles came in the dramatic 4-3 win over Villarreal in the Champions League last month.
Wirtz is finally stamping his mark on the team with goals and assists on a regular basis, and his individual contributions as a playmaker are helping to solve Iraola's biggest problem, which has been creating chances consistently.
Semenyo was the problem solver for the Spaniard at Bournemouth, with 44 goal contributions in 91 matches, and the boss has found his new version of the Ghana international in Wirtz.
antoine-semenyo-bournemouth
However, it is now down to the 23-year-old star to prove that this is not a false dawn. The German star has announced himself as Iraola's new Semenyo, and now he has to live up to the same level of consistency that the former Bournemouth star showed.
If he can continue to score and create goals at his current rate from now up until the end of the season, that £116m price tag may start to look more worthwhile for Liverpool and the criticism may fade away.