‘Tired’ Liverpool must adapt to schedule, says Iraola

LIVERPOOL – Andoni Iraola said it was obvious Liverpool suffered from fatigue in a 0-0 draw at home to Fulham on Sept 12, but insisted his players have to adapt to a gruelling schedule.

Less than three days after beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 in their Champions League opener, the Reds were comfortably held at bay by a Fulham side that had lost each of their first three Premier League games under Alvaro Arbeloa.

“Our players were tired,” said Iraola. “We cannot hide it. I think it’s the worst turnaround in terms of 60-something hours between the games, after a very big game the other day.

“This is going to happen more times, maybe with one more day, but sometimes it’s going to happen the same way during the season. We have to adapt to these circumstances.

“It’s these kinds of games that you need to win; sometimes with a set play, sometimes with a shot from the edge (of the box), sometimes from a moment of brilliance from the offensive players. We haven’t had that today.”

Bradley Barcola failed to shine on his full EPL debut on an off day for Liverpool’s near £500 million (S$856.4 million) forward line also featuring Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Victor Munoz.

Iraola remains unbeaten since taking charge of the 20-time English champions, but three of his first four Premier League games have now ended in draws.

“It’s the first game since I’m here I think we’ve had problems to create chances, to score goals, to make the difference offensively,” added the former Bournemouth manager.

“That’s the main reason that we couldn’t create as many chances as we wanted.”

Goalkeeper Alisson said fatigue was no excuse for a “poor” performance.

“Obviously, it’s a big challenge to play Wednesday night and Saturday evening, and you have another game Tuesday,” said the Brazilian.

“But we need to get the right mentality to do that, and I think it wasn’t the case today. We have to improve for the next one.”

Arbeloa was relieved after his side finally earned their first point in this season’s EPL.

“We worked so hard this week, and I’m so happy, not just for the point but for how my players played here,” said the former Liverpool defender.

“And I think this (result) is going to be important for us to believe in our idea. Of course, we need to keep improving.” AFP, REUTERS