The week Anfield ran out of patience
Liverpool 0–0 Fulham at Anfield. That is the moment this week turns on, and it is worse than a defeat. Four league games, six points, still unbeaten, and the mood around the ground has already gone sour (7)(18).
The performance was the problem, not the scoreline. Andoni Iraola said his side lacked freshness (10). Alisson voiced the same concerns after the final whistle that every supporter had during the 90 minutes (20). When the manager and the goalkeeper are describing the same flat team, that is where the week sits. Iraola has won two of five games in charge (2). Six points behind Arsenal after four matches is not a crisis yet, but it is a fact (3).
The attack is the problem, and the numbers say so
Florian Wirtz has zero goals and one assist in four league games (24). Bayern Munich are monitoring him with a view to a move next summer, contingent on their own situation (1)(9). That is the transfer noise. The on-pitch problem is simpler: nobody is taking games by the collar.
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Steve Nicol has called for Iraola to drop Wirtz to get the attack firing again, pointing to Dominik Szoboszlai's role as the rationale (4). That is a pundit's argument, not a team selection. But it is the question everyone who watched the Fulham draw is asking.
Bradley Barcola, the record signing, was quiet again. Iraola explained that Barcola will play on both flanks depending on the match-ups, wherever the staff think he is more dangerous (15). Flexible plan. No output yet.
The defence is the one thing working
Two clean sheets in a row in all competitions, including the 2–1 win over Atlético Madrid in the Champions League on September 9 (7). Jeremy Jacquet has been the find of the first month, and Iraola has been openly delighted with him, with the young centre-back now preferred alongside Virgil van Dijk (6).
That is the clear win of the early weeks. Liverpool bought a defender and he is already in the team. The rest of the squad is still settling.
Off the pitch the noise is louder than the results. FSG's warning to Iraola after his arrival reads more pointed now (16). Van Dijk is being linked with Real Madrid in the Spanish press (12). Nothing is decided. All of it is context.
What to watch at Bournemouth
Bournemouth away on Sunday, September 20, kick-off 15:00 CEST. That fixture carries more than three points. Bournemouth are also the club linked with Rayan, the winger Liverpool reportedly could break their transfer record to sign next year, around £130m, with the Iraola connection from his Bournemouth days as the obvious thread (8)(14).
Watch the front line first. Wirtz's role, Barcola's side, whether Iraola changes what was flat against Fulham. Then watch the midfield press, which the Fulham game laid bare as an ongoing issue (23).
Two games in five days, with the Tottenham cup tie at Anfield midweek (22), will show whether this squad is tired or something worse. Bournemouth first.
