‘Can’t be happy’ – Iraola makes Liverpool admission following Fulham draw

In partnership with

The Football Faithful

·12 September 2026

‘Can’t be happy’ – Iraola makes Liverpool admission following Fulham draw

Andoni Iraola admitted that Liverpool’s attack was not good enough after they were held to a goalless draw by Fulham at Anfield on Saturday.

Despite apparent discontent in the Cottagers’ squad, the visitors looked the more cohesive unit and created a number of openings on the day.

OneFootball Videos

Josh King was at the centre of everything Fulham did in the final third, including their best chance of the match. An errant pass from Alisson Becker was pounced on by the opposition’s high press, and in the Brazilian’s desperation to atone for the mistake he almost wiped out the youngster. Gonzalo Garcia did get a shot off, but it was cleared off the line by Jeremy Jacquet.

Victor Munoz almost broke the deadlock but his header form a corner crashed off the crossbar. Liverpool were improved in the second half, but Alvaro Arbeloa’s side held on for their first point of the season.

Iraola makes Liverpool admission following Fulham draw

Speaking after the full-time whistle, Iraola felt his side were not only poor in the final third, but also lacking in energy.

“When you draw, especially at home, you can’t be happy,” he told BBC Match of the Day. “Today we lacked a bit of freshness and we did not do enough offensively to make the difference.

“We have been good enough to keep the clean sheet. It was slightly better in the second half. In the first half we started the game slow, we lacked energy and it was not enough, we have to be offensively better.”

Iraola made three changes to the side that beat Ipswich Town last weekend, with Milos Kerkez, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo, who was carrying a knock, all dropping to the bench after Liverpool played Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

“It is less than three days, 60 hours, and a lot of players had to adapt,” he said. “Most of the changes were for physical reasons because the players were tired, but that is the season and in less than three days we will be here against Spurs [in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday].

“We have to adapt and find ways to win.”

Bradley Barcola had a quiet afternoon on his first Premier League start since joining Liverpool from PSG in a £123 million transfer, taking just one shot and creating one chance before coming off in the 72nd minute.

“Bradley is one we are building up physically with games and the games will give him the condition we want. But it is not just Bradley, we lack the freshness. I only remember one clear chance [for Fulham] and we kept the structure but offensively we need to do much better.”

Read – Iraola reveals why he fought to keep promising starlet at Liverpool