Andoni Iraola has directed attention to Liverpool’s forwards following their goalless draw against Fulham on Saturday, emphasizing the need for greater contributions to make his tactical system effective.

The head coach remarked that the team took “a step backwards” in performance, particularly highlighting the struggles of his central midfield pairing, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai. They managed to win only two out of five duels and one out of nine duels, respectively. Iraola pointed out that the issues stemmed from the attack, stating,

"It’s not a matter of just the midfielders. When we have been good collectively, the midfielders have looked a lot better and recovered more balls."

He stressed the importance of the forwards’ pressing, noting that when they perform well, it benefits the defenders and midfielders, making their tasks easier.

As Tottenham prepares to visit for the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday, Iraola hinted at changes in the frontline, likely excluding Alexander Isak, Bradley Barcola, Florian Wirtz, and Víctor Muñoz. Trey Nyoni is vying for a starting spot in midfield, and Georgi Mamardashvili, whom Iraola attempted to sign for Bournemouth, will replace Alisson in goal.

Iraola also reflected on the draw, which marked a third in four Premier League matches, noting that the team failed to recover the ball high enough on the pitch. He explained,

"When we recover the ball low, we have to attack against 11 players, making it tougher to break through."

He emphasized the need to regain possession higher up the pitch to facilitate quicker transitions and exploit spaces effectively, which is crucial to his system.