Cody Gakpo runs out of the Anfield tunnel to warm up.
Cody Gakpo runs out of the Anfield tunnel to warm up.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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The first home game of the Andoni Iraola era at Liverpool ended with a second successive 2-2 draw of the new Premier League season, against Nottingham Forest.
After Alexander Isak had cancelled out Dan Ndoye's opener, it was left to full debutant Victor Munoz to rescue a point after Morgan Gibbs-White's second-half penalty.
The ECHO at at Anfield to run the rule over proceedings. From our player ratings, on-the-whistle-reaction, big-match verdict, and considered analysis, we left no stone unturned in our comprehensive match-day coverage. You can also read what Iraola made of it all too and see how it shook out in our live blog.
READ MORE: Andoni Iraola makes Florian Wirtz Liverpool pledge after pundit criticism - 'Very little doubt'
Our colleagues from the national media were also on hand to give their analysis. Here's what they are saying after another Liverpool draw.
Writing in The Independent, Richard Jolly reflects: "Wingers come in different guises and at different prices. On the day Liverpool agreed to pay up to £123m for Bradley Barcola, the man signed for rather less, and with rather less fanfare, again spared Andoni Iraola a first defeat of his reign.
"On Sunday at Newcastle, Victor Munoz won the penalty that produced Dominik Szoboszlai’s 99th-minute equaliser. On his Anfield bow, the £34m Spaniard delivered a devastating equaliser.
"That both contributions came from the right flank, though he had started on the left against Nottingham Forest, may be pertinent. The presumption is that Barcola will be used on the left.
"While Liverpool are yet to replace Mohamed Salah, they got two equalisers from the men stationed in his old spot here, with Cody Gakpo affording Alexander Isak a tap-in.
"The Dutchman is scarcely a right winger and faces an uncertain future at the end of the window. If Munoz had a fine introduction, this could prove Gakpo’s goodbye, and his was a valiant effort."
Lewis Steele of the Daily Mail, writes: "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. No, don’t worry, we’re not making sweeping judgments of Andoni Iraola – although we will come on to him very shortly – but the Nottingham Forest manager.
"Oliver Glasner, like Sean Dyche last season and Nuno Espirito Santo the year before, has rocked up at Anfield and exposed Liverpool’s vulnerabilities.
"Two years ago, Liverpool’s bogey team Forest were the first side to beat Arne Slot on September 14, 2024. He didn’t lose another league game until April 6, 2025 and they were crowned champions of England three weeks later.
"Last year, a 3-0 Forest triumph marked Slot’s eighth loss in 11 games in a run that was the beginning of the end for the Dutch empire at Anfield.
"This time it was only a draw but the same issues were on display for Liverpool. A susceptibility to the counter attack, a lack of ingenuity to break down a stubborn low block, second-best in the physical battles.
"Had it not been for Alexander Isak’s first goal of the season and a thunderous strike for new boy Victor Munoz to get off the mark, Forest would have travelled back to Nottingham with three straight wins at Anfield.
"As it was, Iraola’s men showed fight and registered a point, just as they did at Newcastle six days earlier. A pair of Desmonds to start the season is not good by any stretch but it could — and maybe should — have been much worse.
"The new head coach is still waiting to see his DNA in this Liverpool side. For now, he is seeing what he would have noticed when studying them last term."
The Mirror's Felix Keith reflects: "This was supposed to be the season that Alexander Isak began to repay his £125million transfer fee. The 2025/26 campaign was impacted by a non-existent pre-season (of his own making) and injuries. But there are no longer any plausible excuses. It's time to deliver.
"The Swede suffered a fractured ankle and fibula in December and for the first 60 minutes the worries grew over whether he will ever return to his red-hot Newcastle form. There were no promising signs initially, with Isak brushed off the ball by Jair Cunha in a 50/50 and otherwise largely anonymous, right up until Gakpo put a goal on a plate for him.
"Cody Gakpo has become a divisive player among Liverpool fans, but he's shown his worth already this season, rifling a long-range goal in at St James' Park last weekend before setting up the Isak goal here.
"Gakpo has transfer attention from Manchester City and Tottenham and his future is up in the air ahead of the 11pm deadline on Tuesday night. Liverpool may have agreed a £123m deal for Bradley Barcola, but Munoz and Rio Ngumoha could do with keeping Gakpo as a team-mate."
The Telegraph's Dominic King writes: "Andoni Iraola wanted to talk about his team and their need to improve but how could he concentrate on something so straightforward when he had seen something so bizarre?
"It is important, first and foremost, to explain this is not painting a narrative about Liverpool being unfortunate. Far from it. Iraola hissed his dismay that Nottingham Forest had shown more intensity and been the better team for long periods in an entertaining 2-2 draw.
"But the penalty that changed the contest? Iraola, his coaching staff, even the supporters behind the dugout had been left flabbergasted that the malfunctioning number board of fourth official Tim Robinson presented an avenue for Forest to exploit."
And in the ECHO's verdict: "If it's fair to say Liverpool remain a work in progress, they are at least committed to making their journey towards being the finished product an exhilarating ride it seems. That, for the neutral at least, might make for happy reading but for supporters and Andoni Iraola himself, that will be another thing entirely.
"For the second successive week, the Reds were held to a 2-2 draw and that they are yet to hold a lead in close to 200 minutes of Premier League football so far suggests there is much work to do.
"Certainly, there are shifts that need putting in on the training pitches as the squad continue to get to grips with what is a new coach with fresh ideas. But most importantly - right now, at least - there is work to do in the transfer market.
"The imminent arrival of £123m Bradley Barcola, set for a weekend medical, will help ease the summer-long search for one winger but another wideman is needed on the other flank and the idea of selling Cody Gakpo at this stage seems like lunacy too.
"Even if another attacker arrives before Tuesday's 11pm deadline on top of the expected addition of Barcola, Liverpool need to keep Gakpo around, even if the man himself might have designs on a move to either Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur."