The good news for Liverpool is that, Arsenal aside, every other team with vague title aspirations who played over the weekend looked undercooked, and that Andoni Iraola’s men did, in the end, come away from Newcastle with a point. But the vulnerability to the counter that undermined them so often last season has not gone away, and nor have they suddenly found a new creativity under Iraola.
The main theme of the first three days of the new season was the value of stability. Manchester City under a new manager were poor and fortunate to overcome Bournemouth. Aston Villa, after big changes of players and backroom staff, were hammered at Brighton. Tottenham, midway through yet another overhaul, were dismal in losing at Brentford. Manchester United at least provided a degree of stability by looking very much like the United of the past decade in their defeat to Hull.
Liverpool, for much of the first 96 minutes of their fixture at St James’ Park, looked like joining the list of challengers struggling to emerge from a summer of churn. Arne Slot spent much of last season complaining about how opponents always scored with their first chance and about Liverpool’s inability to deal with direct attacks, and as Anthony Elanga put Newcastle ahead, it seemed that not much had changed. Joe Willock’s goal to restore the Newcastle lead was much the same: opponents running at pace through vacant space.
What is odd is how pressing the need for a replacement for Fabinho has been since the defensive midfielder left in 2023. Even as Liverpool won the league under Slot in 2024-25, the discussion was of how the squad needed of an overhaul, and how a dedicated holding player to operate alongside Ryan Gravenberch was a priority. Which was what made the spending spree of last summer so surprising: it wasn’t so much who came in as who didn’t.
Without a holding midfielder, the flaws of the centre of defence, where Virgil van Dijk’s lack of pace on the turn is becoming increasingly obvious, are magnified. Liverpool could perhaps get away with it were he prepared to operate 10 yards higher in possession but the 35-year-old, aware of his ageing legs and worried about balls played in behind him, instinctively drops deeper, giving opponents just the sort of opportunities that Yoane Wissa kept exploiting on Sunday.
Iraola insisted it wasn’t “just about personnel” – which itself seemed an implicit acknowledgment that it is in part about personnel. Had he scored, Iraola said, everybody would have praised Gravenberch, who had advanced to the edge of the Newcastle box in the attack that led to the first Liverpool concession. “I don’t want us to take that from his game but we have to adapt as a team to these situations,” said Iraola. “We have to know these situations can happen.”
Of Newcastle’s second goal, he said: “It wasn’t like they caught us by surprise. We should compete for the first ball and probably make a foul – be a bit more aggressive against the ball carrier. There were different reasons for both the goals which happened in transition. We have been preparing in the week for these transitions but there’s a reason why Newcastle are so good at them. It’s not just because one person is playing there. It’s something we have to correct between a lot of players.”
But conceding on the break isn’t the only familiar issue for Liverpool. Their full-backs, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, were unconvincing. Alexander Isak, booed throughout by the home fans, rarely looked dangerous in the first full 90 minutes he has completed since his British record transfer from Newcastle last summer. Florian Wirtz produced a characteristic performance full of neat touches and little incision.
Iraola’s career suggests it often takes him time to instil his ideas at clubs. There is no reason for panic. Liverpool at least had the resilience to come back and pinch the draw. It’s not like any side other than Arsenal has looked particularly impressive. But perhaps there does need to be a reconsideration of what has gone before.
The familiar narrative is that Slot drove the car that Jürgen Klopp had put together to a league title and was then found wanting. But while the Dutchman cannot escape blame for last season, an equally valid interpretation might be that Slot coaxed an ageing team to an unexpected league title. Then, with an overhaul badly needed – Jamie Carragher wasn’t alone in speaking towards the end of that season of Liverpool needing half a dozen new players – he was let down by those charged with recruitment.
Michael Edwards left his role as chief executive for football at Fenway Sports Group, which owns Liverpool, in July, but the mess caused by last summer’s spree endures. Of the six most expensive signings of last summer for a combined fee of around £410m (about $560m), the only one who has looked remotely impressive, Hugo Ekitike, is still out for months with a ruptured achilles. Rarely has so much been spent in football to such destructive effect.
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