On the evening of October 13, Beijing Time (CET), Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola attended a pre-match press conference for the Champions League match against Austrian club LASK. During the press conference, Iraola discussed several key issues, including team injuries and players such as Barcola and Wirtz. Here is the complete transcript of the press conference:

Which of the three players (Gakpo, Isak, and Szoboszlai) is closest to returning? What are the chances they play this weekend?

"Their injuries are not serious, but it's difficult to say when they will return. We assess their recovery every day. Honestly, for all three of these players, I don't know if they'll be ready for the Brentford match (October 17, Beijing Time CET), or if it will be against Villarreal (October 21, Beijing Time CET), or even Brighton (October 25, Beijing Time CET)."

Clearly, without Isak and Gakpo, everyone is now more focused on the performance of other attacking players and wants them to step up. However, Barcola hasn't scored or assisted in the Premier League, and Wirtz has only one assist. What's your view on them? Are you concerned about their confidence?

"Indeed, Gakpo, Isak, and Szoboszlai are key goal scorers in our tactical system. Now they are all unavailable, and we missed them when playing against Manchester City. We need these players to contribute goals for the team. But I also believe that the players currently in the squad are capable of filling these roles. Injuries during the international break are something all teams face. The key is how we adapt to the current situation."

"As for Wirtz and Barcola, like other players, they have had impressive performances and also less impressive ones. I believe they will deliver brilliant performances for the team in the future."

Barcola and Wirtz were clearly signed by the club for high fees, yet they haven't contributed much to the team's performance so far. There's a lot of discussion about them outside the pitch. How do you handle this? Perhaps you didn't have these concerns when managing Bournemouth, as there were no players with such high transfer fees.

"When we played against Manchester City, if Koumas had scored that goal, then Barcola would have gotten the assist. You know, he actually performed very well. Sometimes we focus too much on the numbers, but I'm very pleased with his performance. Barcola had some good goal-scoring opportunities earlier, but he couldn't convert them into goals. The same applies to Wirtz—I'm 100% confident in him."

Regarding Wirtz, do you think we need to be more patient given his age? Are you confident in giving him more time? Will he eventually succeed?

"Regarding Wirtz, when you play for a big club like ours, if you don't perform well, you certainly attract attention and criticism from outside. I think he didn't play well in that match (referring to the Manchester City match), but he has also played some good matches for us this season. Furthermore, he performed very well for his national team and even scored a goal. Every player will have good performances and also bad days."

"Rather than focusing on individual player performance, I prefer to look at the problem from a team perspective, considering how we can play better and achieve ideal results. It's more of a team-level issue."

You said on Friday that the team stands together and now it's time for others to step up, but Barcola and Wirtz haven't done much to help the team yet. Do you think they can step up?

"If you're asking about scoring goals, then they definitely will step up. Let's wait and see."

"But you're right, there's always a need for players to step up, and that's a big issue for us. You know, we lost to Manchester City, and we're trying to figure out why, we reviewed that match. I love this team, and when we played with 10 men on the pitch, although I didn't manage the situation well in that scenario, before that, I was very satisfied with the spirit, attitude, tempo, and performance shown by the team on the pitch, and that includes our defenders."

What's your assessment of how your team played the final 30 minutes with only 10 men against Manchester City last week? But I think the team only completed 30 successful passes in that final 30 minutes. Do you think this shows mental fragility in the team, or what's your take?

"When we had 11 players on the pitch, we played well. But after one of our players was sent off, they scored quickly. If the score had remained 0-0, you could choose to sit deep and maintain a compact defensive shape. But when you fall behind, the situation is different. We wanted to push forward properly and try to create something, but because they always had one more player than us, it was actually difficult for us to press effectively. Against those goals conceded, simply maintaining a compact defensive shape clearly wasn't enough."

Will there be some changes tomorrow?

"The next match is one we must try to win. We want to start this competition as strongly as possible. We've already won the first match, but winning this competition is never easy. It will be very difficult to field the exact same starting eleven tomorrow as in the last match."

Kerkez just told us that the schedule is too congested, there's not enough time to train, and naturally, good chemistry can't be built on the pitch. How do you see this aspect being managed? For instance, the chemistry between Barcola and Kerkez.

"We don't have much time to train. For now, we can only do our best to prepare for each match, and we'll make some targeted adjustments outside of regular training. However, at the same time, we must consider the players' physical condition to ensure they stay fresh. After all, we have to play 4 matches in 10 days. For Barcola, the more matches he plays, the better his understanding becomes with his teammates."

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