Can Liverpool bounce back under Andoni Iraola?

Liverpool finished the 2025-26 season fifth with 60 points, a steep fall from the side that had won the title a year earlier on 84. A campaign that promised a defence of their crown instead became a struggle, and it ended with Arne Slot losing his job despite scraping into the Champions League places.

Andoni Iraola is the man tasked with putting that right. The 43-year-old arrives from Bournemouth ahead of the new season, and his appointment has lifted the mood at Anfield, with matchday markets reflecting renewed interest in how the Reds will line up next season.

In this article, we assess whether Iraola can lift Liverpool back towards the top of the table and what stands in his way.

Where it went wrong

Liverpool’s title defence unravelled quickly. After a bright start, they slipped down the table during a run that at one stage saw them sitting as low as 12th, well off the pace set by Arsenal at the top.

They recovered enough to claim fifth and a Champions League spot, but 60 points represented a drop of 24 on the previous season. For a club that had looked untouchable 12 months earlier, finishing behind Manchester United and Aston Villa was hard to take, and the board acted once the season was over.

What Iraola brings

Iraola made his name at Bournemouth, where he spent three seasons turning a club with modest resources into a side few enjoyed facing. He guided the Cherries to their highest-ever Premier League points total and, last season, to sixth place and the first European qualification in their history.

That sixth-placed finish was built on an 18-match unbeaten run in the second half of the campaign, form that caught Liverpool’s attention. His teams press aggressively and defend from the front, with a recognisable identity that made Bournemouth difficult to play against, and he has a strong record of improving players already at the club.

A proven climber

Iraola’s career has been a steady ascent. He won the Cypriot Super Cup with AEK Larnaca, then took Rayo Vallecano up to La Liga in his first season in charge before the Premier League came calling.

He has rarely had the biggest budget at any of his clubs, which makes the job at Anfield a different test. At Liverpool, the resources and the expectation are far greater, and the margin for a slow start is much smaller.

The challenge ahead

The squad Iraola inherits is stronger than anything he worked with at Bournemouth, but it underperformed badly last season and will need rebuilding in places. Embedding a new system takes time, and Champions League football from the off leaves little room to experiment.

Liverpool’s hierarchy will also need to back him in the transfer market. Iraola has shown he can get results without heavy spending, but closing the gap to Arsenal and Manchester City demands investment as well as coaching.

Can he turn it around?

The signs are encouraging. Iraola fits the profile Liverpool wanted: an ambitious coach who has already proven himself in the Premier League. He takes over a club that finished fifth rather than one in crisis, which gives him a base to build from.

Whether he can return Liverpool to the title race depends on how quickly his methods take hold and how well the squad is reshaped. Slot proved last season how fine the line is at Anfield. If Iraola gets the balance right, the Reds have the players to climb back towards the top.