Andoni Iraola's Anfield Debut: A Point to Prove Against Nottingham Forest

Andoni Iraola walks into Anfield week with a point to prove, a transfer saga rumbling in the background and Nottingham Forest looming like an old, unwelcome memory.

His Liverpool tenure began in chaos and adrenaline at St James’ Park, Dominik Szoboszlai bailing the Reds out with a last‑minute equaliser against Newcastle. Now comes the first Premier League game at Anfield, a moment the Basque coach openly admits will be “special” and “emotional” – but sentiment will have to wait. Forest are coming, and they’ve made a habit of ruining Liverpool afternoons here.

Forest, the awkward guests

Under Arne Slot, Nottingham Forest turned Anfield into their own little playground. A 1-0 win in September 2024 in just Slot’s second home league game. A 3-0 dismantling last November when the Dutchman’s reign was beginning to unravel. Aggregate score over two visits: 4-0 to Forest.

Iraola knows exactly what that represents – a warning.

“Nothing is for free,” he said of Oliver Glasner’s side. He praised Forest’s organisation, their limited concession of chances and their threat on the counter. He referenced their tight game with Leeds, decided only by a last-minute free-kick, as an example of how hard they are to break down. Liverpool, he insisted, will have to “earn every chance, win our duels” and stay patient on the ball.

Anfield debut, emotion parked

For Iraola, this is more than just another fixture.

“It’s going to be a special moment for me to have first PL game at Anfield,” he admitted. Pre-season gave him a taste of the stadium’s pull, but this is the real thing. Still, he was quick to pull the focus back to the job.

He wants to enjoy it. He also wants three points. The emotion, he knows, only feels good if the football holds up.

Barcola, the big-money pursuit

Hovering over everything is Bradley Barcola.

Liverpool have reached an outline agreement with Paris Saint-Germain for the France international winger, a deal involving a guaranteed fee of just over £100m and a potential total package in the region of £120m with add-ons. Barcola has been the club’s priority attacking target all summer as they attempt to reshape the forward line after Mohamed Salah’s departure.

Iraola, though, stayed firmly within the usual lines when asked.

“As you know, we are trying to sign in that position,” he said. “We can’t talk about players who right now aren’t ours. But we are trying to improve and fill that position as we don’t have the numbers. I hope we have good news soon but we are still not there.”

He admitted the uncertainty of the market is “very uncomfortable” for him, with plans constantly shifting until the window shuts. His message was clear: he knows what he wants, the club knows what he wants, and now it’s about “closing the deals”.

Wide men wanted, but not only them

The need for wingers has been a consistent theme.

“There are certain things we can do but it’s true we need players in the wide areas,” Iraola said. He added that if Liverpool can improve other areas, they will try, but he “doesn’t know how the market is going to finish” and must show patience like everyone else.

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock has already called publicly for more than just Barcola, urging the club to follow that move with signings at right-back and in midfield. Inside the club, the conversation is similar, even if it’s delivered more cautiously.

Iraola didn’t close the door on late drama, either. Asked about Cody Gakpo and the possibility of outgoings, he admitted that with the window open and “expensive players” arriving, he “cannot guarantee anything” about keeping his current squad intact. Experience, he said, tells him that “if there’s an opportunity the last day you can do something.”

Midfield heat and defensive balance

If the transfer noise is loud, the scrutiny on Liverpool’s midfield is deafening.

Iraola knew that would come. “Not surprised,” he said of the reaction. “I expected when I came here that everything would be magnified. I’m starting to understand.”

The draw at Newcastle sparked debate over defensive transitions and the space opponents found when Liverpool lost the ball. Iraola didn’t dodge the issue. He accepted that the first goal in particular owed much to poor positioning when possession was turned over, even if he felt the team “improved during the game” in that area and were “much, much better getting the numbers back”.

He also pushed back at the idea that the midfield display was a write-off. He insisted Liverpool “did a lot of very good things, even the players in midfield did,” but agreed there are “definitely things we need to improve”.

This is the tightrope he’s trying to walk. “We don’t want to lose the offensive side, the fluidity, the arrival of numbers,” he explained. They were “punished” at Newcastle, but he refuses to swing to the opposite extreme and turn Liverpool into a cautious, static side.

“We can’t go from one way where we send a lot of people forward to putting everyone back and it looks stale,” he said. For him, it comes down to players reading situations: top players “smell whether they can take the risk of going or staying”.

Gravenberch, responsibility and risk

Ryan Gravenberch is a good example of that balance. Iraola referenced the Dutchman’s role in pre-season, pointing to the goal against Monaco that came from Gravenberch’s progressive play and pass to Alex.

“I don’t want to tell Ryan Gravenberch don’t carry the ball,” he said. But he made it clear that someone has to manage the defensive numbers. “We can’t attack with everyone.” Sometimes both midfielders can go when the opposition sit deep; sometimes they cannot. Recognising those moments is now central to Liverpool’s work on the training ground.

Gakpo’s form, future uncertainty

Cody Gakpo has started strongly under Iraola, and the head coach made a point of highlighting it.

“After the performance he had in first game I say the same, he’s playing very well for us,” Iraola said. He praised Gakpo’s form since returning from the World Cup, his attitude, and his potential influence on this team.

Yet even there, the market hangs over everything. He repeated that he cannot guarantee anything about who stays or how many signings arrive while the window remains open. Liverpool, like most elite clubs, are braced for late opportunities and late threats.

Injuries, omissions and squad calls

Team selection has its own subplots. Federico Chiesa is out after feeling something in his back during the game against Como. Harvey Elliott, meanwhile, was left out of the squad at Newcastle, a decision Iraola framed as a matter of numbers and balance rather than a verdict on the youngster’s progress.

“With Harvey and some of the players I can only choose 20,” he said. Elliott is “trying and improving every week” but Iraola “still prefers other options” in terms of how the bench is structured, which is why James McConnell made the squad instead. The message to Elliott and others was simple: “It’s now another new week and new chances for everyone. They have to keep that mentality.”

Jacquet’s early impression

One of the more positive individual notes from the Newcastle game was the debut of young defender Jacquet. Iraola was impressed.

“He played very well considering it was his first game,” he said. Fatigue forced a late substitution – “you could feel he was tired in the last five minutes” – but the head coach liked what he saw. Jacquet is “very confident on the ball and good without the ball”. The caveat is his age. “Very young, we have to accept he will make mistakes.”

Control at Newcastle – and what comes next

Despite the drama of the late equaliser, Iraola’s reading of the Newcastle performance was more controlled than the outside noise.

“I thought we controlled the game quite well,” he said. He felt Liverpool had “meaningful possession”, were “quite direct in attack” and, for most of the match, looked “closer to scoring than Newcastle”.

He knows the narrative will always “go to the goals” and the defensive lapses. He also believes that, soon enough, the conversation will move on to something else as the team evolves.

For now, though, the focus is sharp. A first Premier League game at Anfield. A Forest side that has twice embarrassed Liverpool on this ground. A transfer window that could still twist dramatically in the final days. And a new head coach trying to shape a side that can attack with ferocity without leaving the back door wide open.

The stage is set. Now we find out whether Iraola’s Liverpool can turn emotion and ambition into something far more tangible against the very team that haunted his predecessor.