Liverpool signed Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola in the summer window, and although former Reds centre-back Jamie Carragher is pleased with the signing, he believes Andoni Iraola’s side remains unbalanced.
After £200million-plus summer investment, Liverpool have addressed the loss of Mohamed Salah with Barcola, despite the Frenchman primarily operating off the left-hand side.
In defense however, Carragher believes the Reds are short at full-back and at holding midfielder.
Squad imbalance
“It does not look like a balanced squad,” Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports.
“Liverpool are short in the full-back areas and probably a midfield player as well.
“Liverpool have not got a real out-and-out right-sided attacker,” Carragher continued.
“We have not got anybody with a left foot on that right side, like Mo Salah. I am disappointed. I am not quite sure what we are going to do on that right wing right now.”
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Midfield malfunction
“I do not believe that midfield can function with the personnel in there,” Carragher said, regarding Liverpool’s current midfield structure of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz.
“For me, it does not work. And it is not just about personnel, it is the structure the manager is asking for.”
Iraola’s tactical ideas
“You do not want to lose the offensive side, the fluidity, the arrivals with numbers, but obviously we were punished the other day, especially in the first goal,” Carragher said of Iraola’s tactical approach.
“We cannot go from one way where we send a lot of people forward to keeping everyone back so we do not arrive with numbers.
“It is a matter of identifying the situation. You cannot be with the joystick every time [controlling] the player.
“There are players that are very good at smelling the danger. ‘I cannot risk going now. I think I have to stay.’ Recognising those situations is the job.”
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