What Andoni Iraola said about Liverpool ahead of Arne Slot sacking
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Andoni Iraola is the leading candidate to be the next Liverpool boss and here's what he has previously said when coming up against the RedsThe Arne Slot era is over with Liverpool now looking to replace the sacked Dutchman. Andoni Iraola is the preferred candidate with the Reds set to begin formal talks with the Spaniard's representatives this week.Iraola spent three years at Bournemouth and led them to European qualification this season for the first time in the club's history before departing.During his time in charge of the Cherries, his team faced Liverpool seven times - losing three times to Jurgen Klopp and a further three to Slot before winning the most recent meeting 3-2 in the Premier League in January thanks to an injury-time strike.And those seeking pointers of what the Reds could expect should Iraola follow Slot into the hotseat will no doubt be intrigued by what the Spaniard has previously said about Liverpool.Back in January 2024, Iraola was effusive in his praise of Klopp's Liverpool after they sauntered to a 4-0 win at Bournemouth in which all the goals were scored in the second half.“Liverpool were really clinical,” he said.
“Liverpool are really physical and they keep for 100 minutes this high intensity, they win a lot of duels in the middle and once you become a little bit weaker and don’t arrive too early and leave them a bit of space, it becomes really difficult because they take their chances every time they arrive – their finishes were very, very good.“If you see the second-half numbers of Liverpool they are amazing. They are usually good in the first half but in the second half they are amazing.“We know against this top level of opposition we have to be at our best and have some moments of inspiration like they did with their first goal.
When they had the chances, they made the difference."Later the same season, Liverpool visited the South Coast and came away with a 2-0 win with Iraola highlighting a key factor.“We gave ourselves a chance, we played a high level game, both teams,” he said. We needed to punish them as we knew we would concede some chances as both teams play quite open."Then came the opening-day meeting this season in which Liverpool, having surrendered a 2-0 lead, scored twice in the closing minutes through substitute Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah."That’s why they are so good," said Iraola.