Liverpool star criticised for ‘anonymous’ performance against Fenerbahce

Liverpool star criticised for ‘anonymous’ performance against Fenerbahce Bradley Barcola Struggles in Liverpool’s 3-2 Fenerbahce Defeat Liverpool lost 3-2 to Fenerbahce in Istanbul and the main takeaway was straightforward. The centre-forward experiment failed. Andoni Iraola changed his attack and used Bradley Barcola through the middle, leaving Alexander Isak on the bench. It was a clear tactical call, and it did not pay off. Barcola played the full match at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, but he never imposed himself on the game in any meaningful way. That verdict was summed up brutally in Paul Gorst’s post-match assessment , which described him as: “Virtually anonymous in that centre-forward role that is unfamiliar to him. Glanced one header wide. Moved wide with 25 minutes to go but still struggled. This was a concern.” Hard to argue with any of it. Barcola at Centre-Forward Did Not Work Iraola wants fluidity across the front line. Fine. Modern managers all do. The problem comes when versatility starts undermining function. Barcola is an attacking player with quality, but asking him to operate as the focal point removed too much from Liverpool’s attack. He was unable to attack a dangerous Joe Gomez cross with the instincts of a natural number 9, and a glancing header before half-time drifted wide when Liverpool needed more conviction. After the break, he did force one good save from Ederson, but isolated moments are not enough at this level. When he shifted wide for the final 25 minutes, there was no real lift either. That mattered. Liverpool needed sharper movement, cleaner penalty-box presence and more authority. Alexander Isak Made Immediate Impact The contrast with Isak was obvious. Introduced as part of a triple substitution in the 66th minute, the Swede scored with his first touch. That is what proper centre-forwards do. They arrive, they read the situation quickly and they punish mistakes. His goal still counted for nothing because Fenerbahce struck twice more and took the win, but it underlined the point. Liverpool looked more coherent with Isak leading the line. Selection Call for Crystal Palace There is no great mystery ahead of the trip to Crystal Palace. Isak should start up front. Barcola’s best chance of keeping his place is out wide, where his pace and dribbling can affect games more naturally. On this evidence, using him as Liverpool’s number 9 again would be forcing an idea that already failed once.