Gary Lineker was left confused by one of Andoni Iraola's selection decisions in the Champions League, but the Liverpool head coach has already explained his thinking

Gary Lineker believes it was an "odd" move for Liverpool to trial Bradley Barcola as a striker earlier this week, with Andoni Iraola putting the Frenchman up front against Fenerbahce.

The Champions League experiment didn't work and Lineker joined Jamie Carragher in wondering why Liverpool went with Barcola out of position. He is expected to be restored to the wings this weekend against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park as the Premier League resumes.

"I thought it was unusual," Lineker said on The Rest Is Football podcast. "(Barcola) doesn't look like that sort of player to me that can play there, so I was surprised.

"I saw Iraola's interview after the match, and he said, 'Well, yeah, obviously he's much better in wide positions, but we wanted to do this, that, and the other.'

"And I thought, 'Well, okay, you bring in a star player for over £100 million, and then play him in a position that he's not really familiar with.' I thought it was a bit odd."

Carragher suggested that it is not a good sign for Barcola that Rio Ngumoha is playing better than him at the moment, with the teenager a standout performer in Turkiye alongside Trey Nyoni.

"I think what it reinforces for the supporters is that the squad Liverpool has got is very expensive but not as good as it should be, and not as balanced as it should be," Carragher said on CBS Sports.

"And when you think of some of those players that have come in, what’s a little worry for, not so much the manager, but the people who run the club.

"I spoke about Trey Nyoni being the best player for Liverpool. Well, him and Ngumoha, another young player, were the best players for Liverpool and they were a week or so ago against Chelsea.

"But they also play in the position of players where Liverpool have spent big money. So Barcola has come in for £120 million; he played up front tonight, didn’t play well, but the younger players are playing better than him."

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Iraola explained the decision at the time and was then asked about it again during his pre-Crystal Palace press conference on Friday.

"Bradley is a winger," Iraola explained. "Mostly, he has played as a left-winger, sometimes as a right-winger, but has also played at PSG as a striker. It's something that I wanted to try. I thought against the center-backs he could be a threat, especially in behind.

"But he is a winger and he will be, mostly, 90 per cent of the time, used as a winger. It’s an alternative that I sometimes I want to try. I tried with Cody [Gakpo] against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup.

"Maybe not from the beginning, but it’s true during the games, I think it’s an option we can use when Alex [Isak] is tired and we need another type of striker, we can use the other strikers we have, but also the wingers can do a job there."