Why Iraola's Liverpool are scoring so little in the Premier League
Liverpool have scored nine goals in seven Premier League games, an average of 1.29 per match against 3.75 in Europe; Andoni Iraola's side have an xG of 10.9 and host Brighton, who already have 23 league goals.
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Sete jogos na Premier League, nove gols. É o número que emoldura o início do Liverpool sob Andoni Iraola, e ele parece mais estranho ao lado do resto da temporada: 15 gols em três noites europeias mais um jogo da Carabao Cup no Tottenham, média de 3,75 por partida fora da liga contra 1,29 dentro dela.
O Brighton, visitante deste domingo em Anfield, já marcou 23 na elite. O Liverpool ainda espera a primeira vitória em casa pela liga na era Iraola e sofreu o primeiro gol em quatro dos sete jogos.
A explicação que Iraola oferece não é sobre competições. “É verdade que o jogo contra o LASK é diferente, mas contra o Villarreal e o Atlético de Madrid acho que estivemos ofensivamente, especialmente, muito bem”, disse ele, acrescentando que sua equipe defende melhor na liga e que a diferença tem mais a ver com os adversários do que com a competição.
Os números sustentam metade disso: três jogos sem sofrer gol e oito gols sofridos no campeonato, contra oito em quatro jogos europeus e de copa. Mas o bloco baixo é exatamente o que Iraola dizia querer enfrentar, e o Liverpool o encontra mais do que qualquer um — 28% dos jogos, a maior fatia da divisão, com apenas 15% contra bloco alto, a menor.
Essa preferência foi declarada em julho, quando ele argumentou que preferia controlar jogos contra defesas recuadas, sofrer menos chances e viver no campo adversário, e que estava ansioso para passar o máximo de tempo possível lá.
O talento ofensivo existe — Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Bradley Barcola, Cody Gakpo, Victor Munoz e Rio Ngumoha — e dez jogadores diferentes marcaram. Um xG de 10,9 sugere que mais de nove gols deveriam ter saído; antes do fim de semana, oito times, incluindo o recém-promovido Ipswich e um Manchester United em dificuldade, haviam marcado mais.
Uma comparação que atenua: o Arsenal marcou 11 gols de liga no caminho do título de 2025-26, média de 1,87 por jogo. O Brighton e depois o campeão mostrarão se o ataque de Iraola engrenou.
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