'Close to a guarantee' - Andoni Iraola on Alexander Isak's goalscoring form
Andoni Iraola declared his appreciation for Alexander Isak’s form for Liverpool so far this season.
The Sweden international scored his seventh goal of the campaign as a substitute during the midweek Champions League defeat by Fenerbahce.
At his pre-Crystal Palace press conference on Friday, head coach Iraola was asked how close Isak is to his best performance level.
“Alex is a top goalscorer,” replied the boss. “If we can put him in the position to score, he will deliver. It’s not a guarantee but it’s the closest thing to a guarantee almost.
“Like every player, he can add more things to his game. We want to use the things that he has – he is very good also attacking the spaces, attacking the channels, coming to receive [the ball]. I think he is technically clean also.
“We are trying to use him in the best way.”
Bradley Barcola was also a topic of discussion at Iraola’s latest media briefing.
The France international switched from his typical flank position to be the centre of Liverpool’s forward line in Turkiye on Wednesday.
On the possibility of that happening more in the future, Iraola said: “Bradley is a winger.
“Mostly he has played as a left winger, sometimes as a right winger, but he also has played in PSG as a striker.
“It’s something that I wanted to try. I thought against their centre-backs he could be a threat, especially in behind.
“But he is a winger and he will be mostly – 90 per cent of the time – used as a winger. But it’s alternatives that I sometimes want to try. I tried with Cody [Gakpo] against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup.
“Not maybe from the beginning but it’s true that during the game, I think it’s options that we can use when Alex is tired and we need another type of striker.
“We can use other strikers that we have but also wingers can do a job there.”
