Jamie Carragher was shocked by what Andoni Iraola did during the Newcastle vs Liverpool game, calling it total ‘madness.’
Jamie Carragher has raised some questions about one of Andoni Iraola’s tactical choices during Liverpool’s nail-biting draw against Newcastle United.
On Sunday, Liverpool and Newcastle played an exciting 2-2 game at St James’ Park. The match got off to a fast start when Anthony Elanga scored within five minutes, using his speed to break through Iraola’s defense and calmly beat Alisson Becker.
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo equalized in the 55th minute, giving the Reds hope. But just when it seemed Liverpool was gaining control, Newcastle’s Joe Willock scored on a quick counter-attack to take the lead.
As the match was winding down, it looked like Iraola might leave without any points in his first competitive game. However, Dominik Szoboszlai stepped up and scored a penalty in the final moments to secure a draw for Liverpool.
Even though Szoboszlai scored the crucial equalizer, many fans felt he didn’t have his best game. He was playing in a deep midfield role alongside Ryan Gravenberch—two players who usually like to attack more than defend. This meant Liverpool’s midfield wasn’t protecting the defense well, and Newcastle often caught them out with quick breaks.
Jamie Carragher noticed this problem during preseason and saw it again in the Premier League opener. He shared his thoughts on X, saying, “LFC Midfield all bombing forward happened all pre-season, madness!” and added, “Again! This midfield cannot work, I said it before a competitive ball was kicked.”
Unlike Iraola’s previous team at Bournemouth, where he had strong defensive midfielders like Tyler Adams and Alex Scott, he doesn’t have those players at Liverpool. With Curtis Jones now gone to Inter Milan, Iraola will likely need to bring in another defensive midfielder.
Right now, Liverpool doesn’t have many options for this deeper midfield spot. Along with Gravenberch and Szoboszlai, there’s Alexis Mac Allister, young Trey Nyoni, and Wataru Endo, who isn’t playing much. Szoboszlai’s best position is further forward, but since Florian Wirtz takes the number 10 role, Szoboszlai has to play deeper, which complicates things for Iraola.
Liverpool has been in need of a defensive midfielder since Fabinho left in 2023, but Iraola’s post-match comments suggest they’re not rushing to sign anyone just yet.
“It’s not just about the players,” Iraola said. “Ryan Gravenberch is basically the number six and plays near the box, and if he scores, we celebrate that. I don’t want to take that away from his game, but as a team, we need to adapt and understand these situations can happen.
“For the second goal, we defended better with more players back, but we didn’t make a foul or challenge early enough. It’s not just one person’s fault. It’s something many of us need to improve.”
Iraola also stressed the need for his team to defend more aggressively. He pointed out that players didn’t challenge Yoane Wissa enough, letting him run more than 50 yards to set up Newcastle’s second goal.
Liverpool will be back in action on Saturday when Nottingham Forest visits Anfield.