After a summer long pursuit, Bradley Barcola finally made his first start for Liverpool.
Andoni Iraola made the bold decision to name the club’s latest £100million+ arrival in his starting XI for the Champions League match against Atletico Madrid. There had been a suggestion that the Frenchman may be eased into life with the Reds following a disrupted pre-season. But after 26 minutes against Ipswich Town, he got the nod from the off on Wednesday night.
His inclusion in the starting lineup may not have been a huge surprise. What was a shock, however, was the use of the Frenchman before he was substituted with cramp just shy of the hour mark.
What we learned from Barcola Barcola’s first Liverpool start:
Mo Salah’s replacement?
When Barcola arrived, the message was clear.
This isn’t necessarily the Mo Salah replacement in terms of someone coming in on the right. He would replace the void left by the Egyptian in terms of speed and threat from a wide area. But every single report focused on Barcola being signed to play on the left of the attack.
In fact, it was one of the reasons why Cody Gakpo, by all accounts, wanted to leave the club. He didn’t want to battle it out with the new £123m signing for a start on the left flank.
And Barcola played there against Ipswich, his first start for the Reds arrived on the right.
Was everyone happy with it? No. Many would’ve liked to see him on the left but all summer Iraola has been talking about wanting versatile, multifunctional forwards. Using Barcola on his supposed weaker flank hammered that point home. He wants to keep the opposition guessing and he has the personnel to carry out this plan. Iraola isn’t against using the £123million arrival on the right side. Interestingly, he managed to get a fair bit out of Barcola on that side of the pitch too before he was replaced by Jeremie Frimpong.
Missed chances, but good chances?
We’ll address the elephant in the room. Barcola isn’t, and hasn’t ever been, an elite finisher. His skill is simply his ability to get into the right positions, time and time again. He will miss chances. A lot of them. He will have you wondering whether or not he’s on the wind up with some of the opportunities he spurns.
But the beauty of Barcola is he gets the opportunities to miss.
He may not be anywhere close to 100% after the stop-start pre-season. But fans at Anfield got to witness a glimpse of what the Frenchman is all about. His blistering pace allowed him to get on the end of moves, He burst into space to latch onto a Milos Kerkez pass prior to the equaliser, it was his parried shot that caused the chaos that Dominik Szoboszlai eventually scored from.
Barcola then picked up a perfectly weighted Florian Wirtz through ball moments into the second half, racing clear before firing a shot just beyond Jan Oblak’s post when it looked easier to score.
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard remarked that Barcola should have had two goals. That’s probably something you’ll hear on a regular basis. He’ll miss chances. But he’s also going to score goals if he keeps on doing what he’s doing.
Liverpool’s new-look attack
Liverpool had a different feel to them against Atletico Madrid. On the break, they looked frightening and it’s been a long time since the Reds had that level of pace and directness in their team.
We also got to see what Florian Wirtz could do with an attack made up of runners. The result? The German finished with a pass success rate of 89% and put chances on a plate for Barcola and Isak.
WIrtz, Isak and Barcola combined in the first half, albeit Isak was flagged offside, but it was a glimpse into what the trio are capable of. It was, potentially, a sign of things to come for Iraola’s Liverpool. And key to that, even while playing in a different position, was Barcola.