Andoni Iraola Insists Liverpool Deserved More Than a Point at Newcastle
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola believes his side deserved to take all three points from St James’ Park after the Reds were held to a 2-2 draw by Newcastle United in their opening Premier League match of the 2026/27 season.
Newcastle made a fast start as Anthony Elanga opened the scoring after just five minutes, putting Liverpool on the back foot early in Iraola’s first competitive match in charge.
The visitors eventually found their response after half-time when Cody Gakpo levelled the score in the 55th minute. Their comeback, however, was short-lived as Joe Willock restored Newcastle’s advantage just two minutes later.
Liverpool refused to give up and eventually secured a dramatic equaliser in stoppage time. Substitute Victor Muñoz was brought down by Lewis Hall inside the penalty area, giving Dominik Szoboszlai the chance to rescue a point from the spot.
The result gave Iraola his first point as Liverpool manager, although the Spaniard was left convinced that his team could have taken more from the encounter.
“I don’t think we deserved to lose the game, and I value the effort from the players. I haven’t looked at the statistics, but I’m sure we created more chances and had more of everything,” Iraola said, as quoted by Sky Sports.
The Liverpool boss also highlighted the impact of his substitutes, who he believes played an important role in keeping the Reds competitive during the closing stages.
“I think the players coming off the bench gave us energy. I don’t know if they played better or worse, but they gave us energy,” Iraola added.
That contribution is particularly important to the style of football Iraola wants Liverpool to adopt. The former Bournemouth manager is determined to introduce an intense, high-energy approach, but he recognises that maintaining such a level for the full 90 minutes is not realistic for every player.
“You can feel the way we want to play. Not everyone is going to last 90 minutes. That’s why we need energy from the players coming off the bench, and I think that happened today,” he explained.
Liverpool therefore begin the Iraola era with a point from one of the more demanding away fixtures in the Premier League. Although the result fell short of victory, the late comeback demonstrated their resilience and ensured they extended their unbeaten run in opening-day league fixtures to 14 matches.
For Iraola, the performance provides both encouragement and areas for improvement. Liverpool showed the character to recover from two setbacks at St James’ Park, but their new manager will know that greater defensive consistency and sharper execution could be required if the Reds are to mount a serious challenge this season.
