Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has said that Bradley Barcola needs to learn to cope with the pressure that comes with his hefty transfer fee, after the French forward scored a hat-trick in a 6-3 victory over LASK in the Champions League.
Barcola, who joined Liverpool from Paris Saint-Germain for around £123 million, had not made the best possible start to his career at Anfield. However, his performance against the Austrian side was a positive sign for the remainder of the season.
Iraola stressed that footballers are constantly subjected to extreme assessments depending on their results and performances.
“That’s football. When you win a match, you’re exceptional; when you have a poor performance, you’re a disaster. That’s how it will be for Bradley Barcola and everyone working in football. We have to accept it,” Iraola said.
The manager explained that the French forward’s adaptation to a new league and his teammates had also been made more difficult by injuries within the squad, which had forced him to make frequent changes to the starting lineup.
Cody Gakpo, Alexander Isak and Dominik Szoboszlai have missed the last two matches due to injuries sustained while on international duty. All three are doubts for Saturday’s match against Brentford.
Iraola believes that the more minutes Barcola spends playing alongside his teammates, the better he will adapt to Liverpool’s style of play.
“Now it’s a matter of finding his best form and building a connection with his teammates, so they can understand each other better and know when to make runs into space. The more he plays with us and his teammates, the better he will become,” the manager said.
Meanwhile, Iraola revealed that the return of defender Giovanni Leoni has also been delayed as the Italian continues his recovery from a serious knee injury.
The Italian defender suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear on his club debut in September last year.
According to Iraola, the injury was more serious than initially anticipated, as structures in the knee other than the ligament were also affected. The plan is for Leoni to return to training during the next international break, slightly later than originally expected.