Andoni Iraola’s reaction to Liverpool’s defeat at Fenerbahce

It was a disappointing defeat for Liverpool in their Champions League clash with Fenerbahce in Istanbul on Wednesday night.

The Turkish side twice fought back from behind to claim a dramatic 3-2 victory under caretaker manager and former Liverpool favourite Dirk Kuyt.

Here’s head coach Andoni Iraola‘s post-match press conference in full…

Q: Andoni, just initial thoughts on that.

A: Yeah, I think the main reason is we conceded set pieces, which is something we were doing very well in the league. I think we were dealing quite well until today. We knew it was one of the strengths of Fenerbahce. But we conceded from a free kick, from a corner, even from the long throw at the end, and our goals have hurt us, because I think we’ve gone twice in front. After having good moments, controlling the game, arriving, we found the goals, but after that we conceded in situations that we definitely should defend better.

Q: Is it frustration or disappointment with the way you’ve lost, because you’ve gone one up and you should see…

A: It’s frustration, because it’s a difficult place to come and play, and during most of the game we were thinking, okay, I think we can win this one, but obviously it hasn’t happened. We conceded, I think especially the first goal and the third goal. The second one is a rebound, but the wall, I don’t think we set it properly. And the last one, where Murichi jumped and wins the ball against three of our defenders, is something we have to defend better.

Q: Could you talk through your starting line-up a little bit, particularly the front line and playing Bradley through the middle? How did you think it went?

A: Yeah, we put Victor and Rio in because they were more fresh. We also thought it was maybe good for Alex to play 30 minutes, not more. And we wanted to try Bradley. We tried Cody last week against Chelsea. We wanted to try Bradley because in terms of speed, he’s good, and the matchups could be good for him. He hasn’t found the position to hurt the opposition. He has been better when he has played wide. And then obviously with Cody and Alex, we’ve been more dangerous.

Q: You mentioned frustration there, but how annoying is it for your team to give up goals so cheaply when that’s not what you’ve been doing all season?

A: As you say, they are cheap goals, messy goals. The free kick is quite far out, and it goes through the wall, which are mistakes that can cost you. The last goal is a long throw. The first phase is controlled, but after a very loud ball, Murichi wins it. The second one, I think Kay is the one touching the ball just in front of Ali. I suppose in the stadium it was almost impossible to communicate because it was so noisy. It was even difficult for me to give any kind of instruction. It was difficult, I suppose, for communication between Ali and Cody, the one at the back there.

Q: (on rotation, the question is inaudible in the captions)

A: Yes, we’ve done this not just today, we’ve been doing it all season. In all the games we’ve played midweek, we’ve been changing at least four, five, six, seven players, because with the schedule we have, it’s impossible to always maintain the starting 11. And I think we’ve been dealing well with these rotations. I trust the squad to sustain the level. I don’t think it was the main reason why we lost. Some of the players who didn’t play at the weekend played a good game. We have to look more at how we conceded the goals as the reason we didn’t win, because I think we had good moments, especially on the ball, where we could score our two goals.

Q: What frustrated you most? Was it the way you conceded the goals, or the way you conceded control of the game? For the first 25 minutes you had the ball and were passing exactly how you wanted, and then it seemed to flip after one of them hit the crossbar, and everything sort of changed.

A: Yes, I think before scoring the goals we had very good moments on the ball and very good offensive situations. The thing is, we conceded almost straight away. We didn’t have a lot of time after the goal. Also, the way we conceded: it’s a long free kick, and I don’t even think it was a foul, but it doesn’t matter. These are situations we’ve been dealing with well until today. We were very aware of them in pre-season and have reinforced the defensive set-piece work a lot. We were doing very well in the league, but today it has cost us. We know they are strong there, especially with Murichi, with Lukaku, with the centre-backs. Maybe the last goal is the only one where it’s because they are strong in the air or tall; the others are situations we have to control.