Will Iraola's pressing game work at Liverpool?

· Sky-PL

"There are players who play every three days and have no issues, they can accept it and performances do not change too much," Andoni Iraola explained. "Then there are other players where the risk is bigger and the performances are different."

But the game against Fulham was the first real examination of what happens when the two worlds collide. A draining Champions League night at Anfield in which Liverpool had to come from behind to win was followed by a fixture where they had to force the pace.

Iraola is always lucid in his analysis and identified the problem when speaking in the press conference after the game. "Especially in the first half, we were arriving late to the presses." Tactical corrections were made at the interval but the issue was not fully resolved.

Image: Liverpool left spaces in midfield throughout the game against Fulham at Anfield

Liverpool's tendency to become a split team - the defence retreating while the attackers press - has been a feature thus far. Against Fulham, there were times when Josh King and others were able to enjoy a surprising amount of space in the gaps that opened up.

Image: Fulham were able to play their way through Liverpool's pressing structure too easily

It was a problem when the press failed and Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno was able to find an easy pass out, taking multiple Liverpool forwards out of the game. Far from ideal but Iraola is highly unlikely to discourage his players from committing to this pressing.

Passes allowed per defensive action (PPDA) are a popular proxy for calculating a team's pressing habits. Liverpool's PPDA currently stands at just 8.6 so far this season. It is early in the campaign but that is even lower than any full season under Jurgen Klopp.

It was higher than average against Fulham, perhaps an indication that players were, as Iraola suggests, a little off the usual pace. Nevertheless, Liverpool have made the most sprints in the Premier League this season and are up 12 places for total distance covered.

They are running more, sprinting more and pressing more. It is one of the reasons why Iraola was brought in. There was a demand to return to this brand of football. Now the task is to ensure that Liverpool can do it effectively every time. That is more difficult.

Iraola has made attempts to freshen it up. The plan seems to be to rotate the wingers, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister too. But Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz were asked to go again against Fulham and neither hit the levels of three days earlier.

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