Andoni Iraola has downplayed fears of another injury to his Liverpool squad in explaining one of his substitutions in the 4-3 win over Villarreal on Tuesday night.
Despite equalising for the Reds on the stroke of half-time, Ronald Araujo was withdrawn at the interval and replaced by Florian Wirtz, with Ryan Gravenberch moved from a number 10 role to right-back.
The tactical reshuffle paid dividends as the home side ultimately prevailed at Anfield, and the head coach explained that the substitution was purely by choice and not forced upon him by any physical issue for the Uruguay defender.
Iraola explains his decision to sub off Araujo
In his post-match press conference, Iraola was asked whether Araujo is OK after being withdrawn at half-time.
The Basque replied (via liverpoolfc.com): “Yes. In the first half, it has cost us until the 2-0 to balance the game a little bit.
(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
“I think in possession we’ve got much better positions from Trey [Nyoni] and Alexis [Mac Allister] to control it a little better, but without the ball they were overloading us in the middle with three holding midfielders and [Alberto] Moleiro, who basically is another midfielder coming inside. Ronald was feeling uncomfortable following all the way.
“At the end we thought that a player like Ryan Gravenberch could do both jobs – defensively following inside, even I think he’s good enough outside to sustain the one-v-ones, and also offensively could be a better help if you want for Rio [Ngumoha], attacking down the right side.”
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Iraola’s reshuffle paid off handsomely
The half-time withdrawl of Araujo may have seemed surprising at first, but the performance of Gravenberch in an unfamiliar right-back role and the improved balance within the team meant that Iraola’s decision was vindicated.
Although the Uruguayan is a highly popular figure at Anfield, in truth he didn’t have his best night prior to his equaliser, looking unusually uncomfortable up against Moleiro and the roving Sergi Cardona and lacking quality with his deliveries into the penalty area.
The Netherlands international also struggled in the number 10 role but looked much more at home after switching to right-back, being comfortable on the ball and showing plenty of defensive awareness.
The decision to bring on Wirtz also had the desired effect as the German enjoyed another strong performance, capped by his first goal of the season with what ultimately proved to be the winner for Liverpool.
Full credit to Iraola for being proactive enough to make what seemed a risky substitution and trusting his judgement, with the change working out for the best and Araujo thankfully not suffering any injury complaints.