Andoni Iraola: Liverpool are “too honest” when it comes to committing fouls

Andoni Iraola said Liverpool’s players may be “too honest” after season statistics showed the team had committed 128 fouls, the most of any Premier League side. He made the comments ahead of Sunday’s match against Crystal Palace, with Liverpool having lost their last two games against Arsenal and Fenerbahçe.

Iraola added that the team had won only 88 fouls, fewer than all but three sides in the league. He said his players’ conduct had been good, but stressed that pressure and the desire to play with intensity had to be balanced with genuine, rather than feigned, complaints.

The manager described the season as strange, explaining that Liverpool score and concede plenty of goals in the Champions League, while fewer goals are scored and conceded in the league. The team are fifth in the league, nine points behind leaders Arsenal; they have conceded nine goals in nine league games, compared with ten goals in four Champions League matches.

Iraola said his team needed to be more effective in attack, explaining that getting more players into the penalty area could give Liverpool a greater threat, albeit at the cost of some control. He also said they needed to improve how they attack the penalty area, particularly after the Arsenal match.

He added that Ryan Gravenberch’s availability for the match against Crystal Palace was uncertain, as the player was still managing pain in his heel. Iraola urged his team to respond to their last two defeats by winning away from home.