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Jamie Carragher credits Andoni Iraola for Liverpool 'ability' Arne Slot never had

Liverpool managed to pick up another crucial win in the Champions League to keep a perfect record in the competition, beating Villarreal in a chaotic game at Anfield

Jamie Carragher, former footballer and tv pundit portrait before the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Round of 16 Second Leg match between Liverpool FC and Galatasaray SK
Jamie Carragher has reflected on Liverpool's win against Villarreal

Former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher has praised the side's ability to fight from going behind in games, as the Reds required another comeback to earn victory against Villarreal in the Champions League.

It came as part of another chaotic evening at Anfield, one that the defensive unit will want to forget all about. An error from Virgil van Dijk early on saw Georges Mikautadze punish the home team, with Sergi Cardona compounding that with a second goal for the visitors.

While the crowd grew restless from a sloppy first 35 minutes, things quickly turned on their head, or more specifically, two heads. Alexis Mac Allister rose highest from a corner to find the back of the net, pulling one back for Liverpool, before Ronald Araujo arrived head-first at the back post to draw the game level on the stroke of half-time.

Andoni Iraola's players took charge after the break. Mac Allister struck again before Florian Wirtz scored a fourth, while Tani Oluwaseyi's late finish was only a consolation for Villarreal in the end.

It was yet another match that followed the theme of a slow start that got turned around, an ability that Liverpool seems to have picked up under the head coach.

That comes in stark contrast to last season under Arne Slot, where the Reds would often collapse and fail to find a way back into games after conceding.

That was pointed out by former defender Carragher, who reviewed the match on CBS Sports and said: "Typical Liverpool all season, really, where there still hasn't been one outstanding performance where you feel like the attacks flowed and they've been strong defensively. They've had times where, defensively, they've looked strong but struggled to score.

"The last couple of outings in the Champions League have been lots of goals. So, they're still searching for an almost top performance, really.

LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 20: Andoni Iraola head coach of Liverpool celebrates the victory after winning the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between Liverpool FC and Villarreal CF at Anfield on October 20, 2026 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jose Hernandez/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Andoni Iraola applauds the supporters after his Liverpool side made it three straight wins in all competitions with a comeback victory over Villarreal at Anfield

"But listen, what they have done under Iraola so far is they've had an ability to come back from behind. They've done that a lot. They didn't do that a lot last season at all.

"They've done it again tonight, so that bodes well character-wise. But there's still something short, something still missing, really, I would say, so far."

That bounceback ability is something that has certainly been characterized in Liverpool's season so far, though it is both a positive and a negative for the side in equal measure.

While having that fighting spirit means that results are still turning positive in the end, it shows there are clear areas that need to be worked on to prevent going behind in the first place.

Only so much can be changed overnight with the arrival of a new head coach; however, there are clearly positive signs to build from and places that can be improved too.

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