Liverpool must go full throttle against Brighton despite injury issues, says Iraola

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has said his players cannot play at 70 per cent due to the team’s style of play. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola said on Friday that the side must continue to play with high intensity despite the injury setbacks it has been facing.

The Reds will be without Dominik Szoboszlai, Jeremie Frimpong and Victor Munoz when they face Brighton and Hove Albion at Anfield on Sunday.

“The way we want to play you cannot play 70 per cent,” Iraola said at his pre-match press conference.

“Imagine you don’t have a right-winger on the bench, I will put someone as a right-winger. I prefer to do this than you save your energy so you have to last 90 minutes.

“Give everything for 60 minutes, 65, 70, 72, then someone will do the 18, 35, whatever because we need to play full gas.

“I would like to say we are good enough to play 70 percent and win games but it’s not (the case). We have to play our very best because the teams we have in front of us are very good.”

Liverpool is currently four points adrift of third-placed Brighton, which is the top-scoring club in the league with 23 goals in seven games.

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“I think they are doing incredibly well. They deserved all the praise they are getting and I think there is little doubt there. I think it’s a team that is very well coached,” Iraola said.

“We have to be at our very best to beat Brighton because now they are with confidence. But I also see my team in a good place.”

Iraola was also hopeful that Szoboszlai will not be sidelined for too long after his return from injury was cut short at Brentford.

“I don’t think he’s far, but he hasn’t trained with the group still and also considering that we started him and he had to go out, we will probably take one or two days more than we would last week,” said the Spaniard.

“He’s in a good place. Dom is already training outside alone and he’s going to train with the group but he’s not ready for this one.”