Liverpool fans will have come away from Saturday’s win over Brentford with some frustration, despite picking up a crucial – and in some ways unexpected – three points.

Though a win is indeed a win, supporters will perhaps linger on the way the Reds failed to close the game out after going in front against 10, and then nine men. They squandered a number of clear chances, with Bradley Barcola the main culprit on the day.

But while it must have been extremely frustrating for him to watch Barcola pass up the chance to get on the scoresheet once again, Reds boss Andoni Iraola praised the 24-year-old after the match, claiming that he was just happy to see him getting into good positions over and over again.

Iraola happy with Barcola chances

After what they saw on Saturday, and bringing to mind his terrible miss during his full debut against Atletico Madrid in September, many Liverpool fans will draw a comparison between Barcola and Darwin Nunez.

The Uruguayan was something of a chance magnet, particularly during his first two seasons with Liverpool, but he regularly could not finish when faced with the goal.

Barcola is showing early signs of doing the same, which, although concerning for the fanbase, is not a problem for Iraola, who couldn’t help but smile as he spoke about the France international during his post-match press conference.

“Bradley probably missed clear chances today,” admitted the Liverpool head coach.

“[Hitting] the crossbar I remember, the chip [one-on-one with Kelleher in the first-half], the one situation with Koumas almost against the keeper. On another day he scores three, but I love that he’s having so many chances and being in those situations.”

Barcola’s game by numbers

In total Barcola had four shots against Brentford, which was joint-most in the game along with Brentford’s Jaidon Anthony.

He took the most touches in the opposition penalty box with 13, showcasing how regularly he was being found in dangerous positions, while he was also able to create one chance, ultimately claiming a clever assist for Alexander Isak’s match-winner.

Having racked up an xG of 0.53 – mainly from his first-half break which resulted in a 0.34 chance – Barcola really should have found the net here.

Bizarrely, that effort did not go down as a ‘big chance missed’ by the Liverpool No. 29, but he did collect one anyway, with his unfortunate effort which struck Kelleher’s bar classed as being in that category.

Although this was clearly not the perfect second course to his three goals in midweek, Iraola is right about Barcola. He may not be the cleanest finisher in the world, but the former PSG star is as dangerous as they come, and if Liverpool can keep on getting him on the ball in the opposition box, they will score plenty more goals this season.