Andoni Iraola Reflects on Liverpool's Draw Against Newcastle

Andoni Iraola walked away from a wild opening-day draw admitting it felt “strange” – not the result he wanted, but one that still carried a hint of satisfaction after a late escape.

His side trailed twice at Newcastle, first to Anthony Elanga and then to Joe Willock, yet refused to fold. Cody Gakpo dragged them level the first time, Dominik Szoboszlai did it again late on, and the visitors staggered out of a hostile St James’ Park with a point that, for a long spell, looked unlikely.

“It’s a strange feeling. Not the result we wanted but it’s true, the way we scored the goal in the end, it tastes better. Still, we would have definitely preferred the win,” Iraola told BBC, clinging to the resilience his players showed after slipping 2-1 behind.

They had given themselves a mountain to climb almost immediately. Liverpool were behind inside five minutes, undone by exactly the kind of start Iraola had warned against.

“We started the game the worst way we knew. Newcastle away, first game of the season, the atmosphere, they have very fast players and we concede the goal,” he said. They were punished early, chasing shadows and the scoreline at the same time. “They punished us and we had to go against the result. But we didn’t give up in any moment.”

The game eventually loosened, and with it came the chaos Iraola’s high-energy approach tends to generate. After the interval, his team finally grabbed hold of the ball and the tempo.

“Once you concede the first goal, you need the game to go fast. You need things to happen when you’re losing,” he explained. “We could control the game in the second half. We had better possession around their box. When we scored, it looked like we were the team going to turn the game but then they scored again.”

That punch, just when Liverpool seemed ready to flip the contest, could have broken them. Instead, Iraola turned to his bench and doubled down on intensity.

The match’s physical demands left clear marks. Jeremy Jacquet, short of a full pre-season, could not finish. Iraola had anticipated that. “Jeremy hasn’t done a proper pre-season, so it was kind of expected that he didn’t finish the game. All the substitutes gave us energy. We need it because it’s difficult to last the full 90 minutes with the same players the way we want to play. Players coming off the bench can affect the game.”

One of those changes altered the mood entirely. Victor Munoz came on, ran at tired legs and forced the late penalty that salvaged the draw. Iraola felt the forward might even have earned more.

“Victor almost had another penalty but the referee whistled before conceding it but it was even more clear. So he has really affected the game.”

A flawed start, a furious response, a point wrestled from a brutal away opener. If this is what Iraola’s Liverpool look like on day one, what happens when they finally hit full stride?