Iraola style already clear to see

Winning is important but, for many fans, how a team plays in the hunt for a win is almost as significant.

Many believe Andoni Iraola’s style is more aligned with the ‘heavy metal’ football Anfield had come to love under Jurgen Klopp.

So how have Liverpool fared in their pre-season games so far under Iraola?

The Reds have beaten Sunderland and Wrexham in pre-season, but threw away two-goal leads in defeats by both Leeds and Monaco.

They averaged 60.6% possession over this small sample size – which is a 12.9% jump on Bournemouth‘s average possession under Iraola in the Premier League last season.

With teams more likely to sit deep against Liverpool, having lots of possession is a newer challenge Iraola has to tackle, and he has looked to do this while sticking to the intense and chaotic style that typified his previous sides.

Liverpool have looked to build up short at times with their goalkeeper, four defenders and one or two central midfielders deep.

Dominik Szoboszlai and Trey Nyoni – Liverpool’s preferred deeper midfield duo in pre-season – drop to show for the ball, bouncing it towards wide players in space.

Iraola’s sides have become known for fast and vertical counter-attacks but, with Liverpool looking to hold the ball more deliberately, these short passes in build-up are designed to entice opposition pressure before accelerating play.

Once a team have committed players to pressing Liverpool, Iraola’s men look for forward passes readily – almost manufacturing their own counter-attacks.

If a team press immediately, Liverpool have been willing to skip short build-up play and go long from goalkeepers Alisson or Giorgi Mamardashvili early.

By simplifying the attacking game into two-v-two or three-v-three situations, Liverpool are hoping to have a repeatable and dynamic solution, resulting in crosses from dangerous positions close to goal.

As exciting as this style of play can appear though, it does leave Liverpool very top-heavy.

In the opening games, we have seen both full-backs join the attack alongside two of the midfield three and the front three. This can result in situations that leave only the two centre-backs and one holding midfielder positioned behind the ball.

Four pre-season games is a very small sample, but Iraola’s stamp on Liverpool is already clear to see, featuring many of the same instructions that defined his Bournemouth side.

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