Online Reporter
Liverpool’s lack of midfield defensive cover was there for all to see last season.
Glaring holes for the opposition to run through, a lack of bite in the tackle, a naive belief that the attack-minded pair of Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister could somehow alter their footballing DNA and become dogs of war.
Fast forward to Andoni Iraola’s first home game in charge and it was groundhog day — Nottingham Forest’s quick counter-attacks causing mayhem, Szoboszlai and Mac Allister headless chickens without the ball.
Rocket science would not be required to work out someone of Barcola’s exciting talent might step up as a marquee successor to departed Mo Salah.
Yet over three months of haggling with the Champions League holders in desperate pursuit of the 23-year-old, a critical weakness was somehow completely ignored.
And the obsession with Barcola could turn into a fatal attraction. For Oliver Glasner’s side, just like Newcastle did on the opening weekend of the season, ran right through Iraola’s malfunctioning engine room. Dan Ndoye scored one goal and could have had three, while in the first half Igor Jesus almost had the run of the Liverpool box thanks to precise and pacey passing from behind.
True, Kop ace Florian Wirtz was denied a goal by the tightest of offside margins soon after Ndoye had opened the scoring, having already missed two chances. But seconds before the break, with chaos all around him, Reds keeper Alisson had to be world class to deny Jesus — and at 2-0 then that would surely have been game over.
The need for someone to get down and dirty, to practice the dark arts and do almost anything to protect the back four is so glaringly clear it is almost laughable.
Yet with the transfer window about to shut nobody with such traits has been brought in.
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard — no stranger to a biting tackle or a red card in his day — got it in a nutshell.
He stressed of the Iraola side that has now twice had to fire-fight its way to 2-2 draws under him: “They are too nice.
“They’ve got a load of nice technical players but they lack that little bit of nastiness. All over the pitch they have to be more at it, taking yellow cards if they need to. That’s the problem Iraola faces — you need some nastiness, you can’t be so nice.”
At least Victor Munoz, the same age but at around a quarter of Barcola’s price from Osasuna, has a bit about him.
The Spanish World Cup winner’s turn and fierce shot for Liverpool’s second leveller on 82 minutes spoke of a selfless grafter.
But Iraola is overseeing a collection of individuals, not a team, and there is nobody in the middle galvanising them.
Wirtz does look too ‘nice’ and so does the second of last summer’s £100m-plus arrivals, Alexander Isak. The Swede tapped home the first equaliser but lacks the physicality of a scrapper.
It may well be nice to have Barcola alongside him and Wirtz but if there is no ball-winner, no destroyer, then like the other two so far he could just become another fashion accessory.
Iraola was right to complain that the three minutes of delay as bungling fourth official Tim Robinson fumbled with his subs board with Rio Ngumoha, Ryan Gravenberch and Kostas Tsimikas waiting to go on, gave Forest a window of opportunity.
Yet £50m new boy Liam Delap’s quickly taken throw that ended in a dodgy penalty decision for Neco Williams — with Morgan Gibbs-White converting — once again said it all about lack of cover. Glasner, hoping to welcome his Crystal Palace old boy Daniel Munoz into the Forest fold, should and could have been celebrating his first win as the new boss.
Iraola is also still without a victory — but crucially still minus a midfield scrapper. —Sun.
