Liverpool's Fragile Start to the Premier League Season
Liverpool staggered away from St James’ Park with a point and a pulse, but the first afternoon of the Andoni Iraola era stripped bare just how fragile this team still is.
A 99th-minute penalty, won by substitute Victor Munoz and detonated into the top corner by Dominik Szoboszlai, salvaged a 2-2 draw at Newcastle United and spared Liverpool from opening their Premier League campaign with defeat. The drama was pure box office. The performance was anything but reassuring.
Twice they were sliced open on the counter. Twice they were punished. And for long stretches, it looked like Liverpool would pay for it.
Newcastle needed only five minutes to expose them. Anthony Elanga finished off a sweeping break to put the hosts in front, a goal that felt alarmingly easy. Cody Gakpo briefly dragged Liverpool level with a crisp long-range strike, only for Joe Willock to restore Newcastle’s lead almost immediately, punishing more slack transition play just two minutes later.
Liverpool kept swinging and were finally rewarded in the dying seconds, Munoz drawing a clumsy foul from Lewis Hall deep into stoppage time. Szoboszlai stepped up and hammered in a spectacular spot-kick to snatch a point that felt dramatic, but also deceptive.
Because beneath the late chaos, the problems were obvious. And unless the club acts before the September 1 transfer deadline, this could be a long, unforgiving season.
Right-back: An attacking weapon, a defensive liability
Jeremie Frimpong has been at Liverpool for a year now, and the pattern is familiar. When the game is in front of him and the opposition sit deep, his pace and attacking intent can light up the right flank. When the game becomes stretched and he’s asked to defend, the flaws roar into view.
At St James’ Park his deliveries were poor, his defending worse. This was not a one-off. Away from home, against sides willing to break with speed, he looks exposed.
As a back-up right winger or an option at right-back in home matches against deep blocks, Frimpong can be useful. In fixtures like this, he isn’t. The match underlined it brutally.
With Conor Bradley sidelined for months and Joe Gomez regularly unavailable, Liverpool look light in a position that demands reliability. An upgrade at right-back is no longer a luxury. It’s a necessity.
Left-back: Kerkez under the microscope
Iraola’s arrival came with the hope that his aggressive, front-foot style might unlock the best version of Milos Kerkez. On this evidence, that remains a theory rather than a reality.
Kerkez struggled, and if this level of performance becomes the norm, left-back turns from question mark into flashing red warning light.
Behind him, Kostas Tsimikas remains the deputy. He is trusted as cover, but has never truly convinced as a long-term starter for Liverpool. He doesn’t look like the man to push Kerkez to a higher standard, and he certainly doesn’t look like the answer if the Hungarian’s form dips.
Selling Tsimikas and bringing in a more experienced, calmer left-back who can both challenge and support Kerkez would give Iraola vital security on that flank. Some around the club will quietly wonder whether allowing Andy Robertson to leave was a step too far.
Midfield anchor missing
The most glaring tactical problem, though, sat right at the heart of the pitch.
A two-man pivot of Ryan Gravenberch and Szoboszlai invites chaos. Both are gifted on the ball, both want to step forward, both think attack before they think cover. Newcastle feasted on that imbalance.
For the opener, Gravenberch and Szoboszlai were the two furthest Liverpool players up the pitch as Newcastle sprung their counter. That image summed up the structural issue. Szoboszlai presses with energy but doesn’t yet have the positional discipline to police a pivot. Gravenberch’s off-the-ball work and passing out of pressure remain inconsistent.
Leave that pairing exposed and Liverpool will concede counter-attacking goals all season. Right now, they lack a midfielder who can consistently cover ground, sense danger early and win the ball back. That profile simply isn’t in the squad.
Brentford’s Ibrahim Sangare looked an ideal fit before moving out of reach, but Monaco’s Lamine Camara has emerged as an alternative name who could plug the gap. Whoever it is, Liverpool cannot afford to ignore the need for a defensive-minded midfielder any longer.
Right wing: Talent in the wrong lane
On the opposite flank, the experiment with Rio Ngumoha on the right only underlined another recruitment gap.
Ngumoha is a huge talent, but not a right winger. That was clear. He didn’t complete a single dribble, had just one touch in the Newcastle box and saw his only shot blocked. The threat just wasn’t there.
His game is built on cutting in from the left onto his stronger right foot, driving directly at defenders and opening up the pitch. From the right, he loses that edge. Liverpool need someone on that side who can roll inside and carry a threat on their left foot.
Yankuba Minteh fits that profile and is believed to be attainable before the deadline, but he will not be available to play until at least October. That leaves a gap in the here and now.
Liverpool escaped Tyneside with a point and a late jolt of adrenaline. The table will show a draw. The performance, and the holes it exposed, tell a different story. With the clock ticking towards September 1, how bold are they prepared to be?
