Iraola Made a Huge Szoboszlai Mistake During Brentford vs Liverpool

· GiveMeSport

Andoni Iraola made a big mistake with one of his decisions on Saturday afternoon during Liverpool's game against Brentford.

Liverpool avoided embarrassment by narrowly beating nine-man Brentford on Saturday afternoon, although Andoni Iraola will surely regret one of the decisions he made around the clash at the Gtech Community Stadium.

The Reds fell behind in the 44th minute courtesy of Keane Lewis-Potter's towering header, created by Igor Thiago's cross. However, the Bees shot themselves in the foot moments later when Yehor Yarmoliuk was sent off for headbutting Jeremy Jacquet .

This dismissal altered the course of the game, switching the momentum to the Merseysiders in the second half. Victor Munoz was the source of the Reds' equaliser, finishing nicely after being played in by Florian Wirtz.

The winner came eight minutes later, when Bradley Barcola nodded Alexis Mac Allister's cross in the direction of Alexander Isak , who outstandingly pounced on the loose ball to fire home.

The result sees Liverpool move above Keith Andrews' impressive side in the table, although the afternoon wasn't all rosy for Iraola, who lost a key player to injury in the first half.

Szoboszlai sustained a hamstring injury whilst away with Hungary during the international break, and this setback saw him miss Liverpool's games against Manchester City and LASK over the last week.

Asked about the midfielder's potential availability for the visit to West London in his press conference on Thursday, Iraola said (via Liverpool.com ): > "It's early for us to say. We still have two more training sessions. Obviously, they were not ready for yesterday night [Lask on Wednsday], so we have to wait and see."

Lo and behold, with Ryan Gravenberch suspended after being sent off against City, Szoboszlai was named in the starting eleven at Brentford.

However, his afternoon didn't last long. The Hungarian was forced off after just 32 minutes, going down off the ball and showing visible signs of discomfort and dejection. He was replaced by 19-year-old Trey Nyoni.

Speaking after the game, Iraola provided a pessimistic update on Szoboszlai's condition.

> "I think we have a very delicate situation," he said (via the Mirror ).

> "We were coming from playing Champions League away two days ago, arrived [home] late at night and probably without a proper recovery.

> "You are in doubt between the players that have already started two games and are very tired, or the players that are recovering from injuries but you're probably not 100 per cent certain.

> "They [Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong] were different cases. Dom felt the same injury; it's not a new injury and was probably not healed enough, so we will need more time with him.

> But it will mean we will lose Dom and Jeremie for some time, yes."

By Iraola's own admission, Szoboszlai wasn't fully fit. While he would've had medical clearance to take part against the Bees, the Liverpool boss essentially revealed that the player was rushed back somewhat, and it showed on the pitch.

In his half-an-hour at Brentford, the Hungarian didn't look like himself, playing conservative backwards passes and moving gingerly throughout. It wasn't the boisterous, energetic and intense performance that Liverpool fans have become so used to seeing from their talismanic midfielder.

It's fair to suggest that this was a mistake from Iraola, who showed a lack of foresight. Rushing one of the team's best players back and avoiding handing a useful start to Nyoni for the sake of one away match was reckless.

Szoboszlai's Injury record

Now, Liverpool may be without Szoboszlai for an extended period, and given Alexis Mac Allister's inconsistent form , this could prove to be a real issue.

The victory for Liverpool seems to have people glossing over this disastrous choice by Iraola, which will harm the Reds in the long run.

It's a reminder that the Spaniard may be tactically astute, but he's yet to prove himself on the very elite stage, with his ability to carefully manage a squad across multiple competitions still in question.

Taking on the burden of coping with four competitions is a different problem, and it's a skill which managers need to develop over time. Iraola isn't there yet.

All injury information via TransferMarkt - correct as of 17/10/2026

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