Iraola's chaos reaches Liverpool: fearsome attack and a catastrophic gap!

Liverpool have played four preparatory matches under Arne Slot so far. They beat Sunderland and Wrexham, but threw away two-goal leads against Leeds and Monaco to lose both.

The results don't paint an ideal picture of the Spanish coach's start. Look closer at the performances, though, and a set of ideas emerges that Iraola is trying to instil in the team, according to "BBC Sport".

Across those matches, Liverpool averaged 60.6% possession. That's some 12.9% higher than Bournemouth's average under Iraola in the Premier League last season.

One of the biggest challenges facing the Spanish coach becomes clear here. As the stronger side in most of their games, Liverpool will meet opponents who retreat into their defensive third and sit deep, forcing him to handle sustained possession for long spells.

Iraola is searching for the answer by keeping his trademark identity of speed, intensity and constant movement, while developing a calmer approach to possession and build-up play.

Iraola's ideas in the possession phase have looked familiar since he arrived at Liverpool, echoing much of what he offered during his previous spell with Bournemouth.

Liverpool often begin building play with short passes from the goalkeeper. The ball moves to a back four, then reaches one or two midfielders positioned deep.

Dominik Szoboszlai and Trey Nyoni have emerged as the preferred pairing in that deeper role during the preparation period, dropping back to receive the ball before trying to shift it quickly out wide.

Iraola's teams have historically been known for fast, direct counter-attacks and vertical play. Under his leadership, though, Liverpool are trying to keep the ball for longer before speeding up the tempo of the attack.

This isn't possession for the sake of possession. Short passes lure the opponent into pressing, and Liverpool then strike the spaces they leave behind.

The moment the opposition push forward to press, the team hunt for forward passes, creating a kind of counter-attack of their own.

When the opponent presses high and intensely from the very first moment, Liverpool don't hesitate to skip the short build-up and go direct, through long balls sent early by Alisson or Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Through this approach, Liverpool try to ensure enough players surround the ball. That way the team can recover the "second ball" even after losing the aerial contest or the first challenge, then exploit the spaces that open up behind the opponent's press.

Iraola's attacking ideas do not appear disconnected from his coaching roots, as the Spanish manager carries a clear influence from one of the most important coaches who played a role in shaping his philosophy, Marcelo Bielsa.

The Argentine oversaw Iraola's training as a player at Athletic Bilbao between 2011 and 2013, and the Spaniard has spoken more than once about the scale of Bielsa's influence on his ideas.

Iraola told Sky Sports in 2023: "I use a lot of the drills I learned from Marcelo, especially those related to dealing with the ball."

He added: "In attacking terms, his teams are characterised by great energy and activity, and are always ready to move into empty spaces. He also accepts a kind of organised chaos in the attacking phase."

That phrase in particular sums up much of what Liverpool have started to show under Iraola.

Like Bielsa's teams, Iraola leans on constant movement, refusing to let his players stay confined to fixed areas during the attack.

When Liverpool have the ball, you rarely see their players holding rigid positions for long. They shift constantly, opening new passing angles and pulling the opponent's defensive shape apart.

Another idea associated with Bielsa is the use of pairs and trios on the flanks to break down opposition defences, something Iraola experienced himself as a right-back under the Argentine.

Full-back and winger would work together constantly down the flank. Yet the relationship between them followed no fixed rule dictating that one stays advanced and the other sits behind.

Bielsa encouraged his players to swap positions continuously. The winger might drift into the centre to open space for the full-back, while the midfielder moves close by to offer a third passing option.

At other times, the full-back himself would move inside, letting the winger stay high and wide on the flank.

Liverpool have already begun to show similar patterns under Arne Slot, particularly on the left flank.

The full-backs push into the final third close to Rio Ngumoha or Cody Gakpo. Florian Wirtz, whom Slot primarily deploys in the number 10 playmaker role, sometimes drifts towards the same side.

That movement hands Wirtz three options. He can run in behind, drop into deeper areas, or move out to the flank.

Constant movement and exchanges within the attacking triangles make tracking Liverpool's players far harder for the opposition.

Rather than facing players locked into fixed roles, the defender confronts a group who continually swap positions, opening new spaces with each move.

By turning the flank duels into two-versus-one or three-versus situations, Liverpool aim to reach attacking solutions they can repeat consistently, leading to crosses delivered from dangerous areas close to goal.

But there's another side to this approach. Lose the ball, and Liverpool become vulnerable. The more players they commit to the attack, the more exposed they are to the counter, something that showed up in the early pre-season matches.

At times the full-backs pushed forward alongside two of the midfielders and the attacking trio, leaving just the two centre-backs and a single holding midfielder behind the ball.

That hands the opponent a chance to exploit the gaps the moment they win possession. Liverpool under Slot suffered from the same clear gaps against fast counters last season.

This is why Arraiola spoke of the need to give the team greater control in matches, while at the same time preserving the state of "organised chaos" that gives his attack its strength.

One fix would be to keep more players behind the ball during attacks as the season wears on. But look at the principles Arraiola has relied on throughout his career, and his coaching background, and that scenario looks unlikely.

The Basque coach has grown used to pushing six or seven players forward, settling for three or four to hold the back line during attacks.

Counter-pressing: the weapon to save the balance

Arraiola leans on one fundamental idea to cut the danger of this forward surge: stopping the counter before it begins through intense counter-pressing.

Applying that press comes easier when the team has flooded the areas close to the ball, especially out wide, with several players around the ball carrier. Turning the idea into reality over 90 minutes is another matter entirely.

Arraiola admitted as much after the defeat to Monaco, when he noted that his team "cannot maintain the required level, and we still have work we need to do".

The Spanish coach was talking specifically about the drop-off in second halves. Several factors could explain it, among them the lack of depth in the squad, a decline in physical capabilities, and not yet having fully mastered the pressing style he wants.

Liverpool's pre-season also brought out the high press that sits at the heart of Arne Slot's philosophy. What stood out, though, wasn't just the elevated pressing line. It was the roles the manager handed his players, and what those roles reveal about how he wants to defend.

Take Dominik Szoboszlai. Last season he filled multiple roles across the front line, in midfield and even at right-back, yet Slot deployed him primarily as a second, deep-lying midfielder. That job carries serious defensive weight.

Liverpool often press through a shape that resembles a "diamond" in a 4-4-2. The team first grants the opponent space to pass over short distances, then unleashes more ferocious waves of pressure.

Time and again, they try to steer the ball towards the centre before pouncing on it once it reaches the areas they want.

Iraola carried plenty from his Bournemouth days into Liverpool. One principle stands out: keep an extra defender back to shield the line against the opposition attack.

Leave three forwards high up the pitch and Liverpool will hold four defenders behind them.

That leaves one fewer man in the attacking areas. To cover the shortfall, the team rely on relentless movement and intelligent defensive cover.

When a player abandons his direct opponent to press elsewhere, his team-mates at the back must read the danger instantly and take responsibility for the man left free.

Szoboszlai's value shows here more than anywhere. The moment the Hungarian midfielder pushes up to press, the holding midfielder and the back line have to react, or dangerous gaps open at the heart of the setup.

Szoboszlai himself senses a clear shift in how the side works under the Spanish coach. The Hungary captain said of his new boss: "He is a wonderful coach. The level of intensity and sharpness we need is now available, and we have regained what we previously lacked."

Blessed with real physical power, Szoboszlai covers the ground his team needs, and Liverpool's press often ends up looking like an even contest in numbers.

He also knows exactly when to break forward and press. That instinct has helped the team put Iraola's defensive ideas into practice quickly and effectively.

Four pre-season matches remain far too small a sample to pass final judgement on Iraola's project. Yet they were enough to reveal a clear imprint of the Spanish coach.

Many of the instructions on show in those friendlies match the principles that defined his style at Bournemouth: the way play is built, the transitions, the constant movement, the high press, the attempt to win the ball back the instant it is lost.

Those ideas have already proven they can create an active and dangerous side. The real challenge lies in applying them across a full season, and against opponents who will know exactly what is coming.

Iraola is trying to solve a difficult equation. How does he keep the "organised chaos", the speed and the intensity that give his teams their strength, while handing Liverpool the control and defensive stability they need?

So far, he has clearly chosen not to abandon his identity. Liverpool want more possession, but they do not want to become a slow team. They want to build from the back, yet they are ready to bypass that phase and go long when the situation demands it.

Control matters to them, but so does luring the opponent into pressing and then exploiting the spaces left behind. They want to attack with numbers, relying on the counter-press to stop the opponent punishing the gaps in behind.

All of this makes Liverpool under Iraola an exciting team to watch. It also exposes them to real risk. Success will not depend only on his ability to impose his style, but on finding the balance between boldness and discipline, between control and chaos, between the high press and preserving physical energy.

As the season begins, the key question is whether Iraola can turn these ideas from features that surfaced in pre-season into a fully integrated system, one that can withstand the pressure of competitive matches.

Get it right, and Liverpool may deliver a version of themselves that restores much of the raucous football Anfield loved under Klopp, only with a fresh touch bearing Iraola's own stamp. Get it wrong, and the "organised chaos" that fuels their attack could tip into real chaos, with the defence left to pay the price.