Iraola: We held onto the ball too often when we should have just shot

Andoni Iraola reflected on Liverpool's thrilling 2-2 draw against Newcastle in their Premier League opener. This marked the competitive debut for the new manager of the 20-time club champions, who parted ways with their previous coach, Arne Slot, at the end of spring.

“I don't think we deserved to lose, and I appreciate the players' effort. I haven't looked at the statistics, but I'm sure we had more chances.

I believe we were getting into the box in the first half as well, but we just couldn't finish our attacks. Too often, we held onto the ball at the edge of the penalty area when we should have just shot, even with the first touch.

I think the players who came off the bench gave us energy. I don't know if they played better or worse, but they injected energy. And you can imagine that not everyone can handle the 90 minutes of play we want to execute, so we need that energy from those coming off the bench, and I think it worked today,” Iraola stated.

The Merseyside club ultimately secured the draw in the dying minutes when Dominik Szoboszlai converted a penalty, extending Iraola's impressive streak to 19 consecutive Premier League matches without a loss. This statistic also includes his tenure at Bournemouth, whom he managed last season.