Liverpool's Bold New Strategy Without Salah: Iraola's Tactical Revolution

Two months on from Mohamed Salah’s departure and Liverpool are still walking through unfamiliar territory. The old compass – cut in from the right, left foot, inevitability – has gone. In its place, Andoni Iraola is trying something far bolder than a like-for-like swap.

He is rebuilding the attack from the opposite side.

Barcola Flips the Pitch

Instead of chasing another left-footed right winger to mimic Salah, Liverpool went all-in on Bradley Barcola. The Frenchman arrived from Paris Saint-Germain as one of the most expensive signings in the club’s history, and with him comes a very different blueprint.

Thirteen goals and seven assists last season underline his end product, but it’s where he does his damage that really matters. Barcola wants the left. He wants to drive inside on his right foot, not mirror Salah’s old angles but invert them. The entire attacking balance has been spun around.

With Barcola now owning that flank, Liverpool suddenly look overloaded on one side and stripped bare on the other. Four players comfortable on the left, not a single natural right winger in the squad after the summer window shut. It’s not just a tactical tweak; it’s a structural gamble.

A Vacancy on the Right

The early experiments have been uncomfortable. Teenage prospect Rio Ngumoha was thrown onto the right against Newcastle and found it hard going, his usual fluency dulled by the unfamiliar role. Cody Gakpo, asked to do a similar job against Nottingham Forest, was marginally better but still far from a natural fit.

Iraola, though, sees opportunity where others see imbalance.

He believes Víctor Munoz, one of the new faces at Anfield, might be the answer out wide. The Spaniard has spent more of his career starting on the left, but his manager sees something different in him.

“Víctor has played more games on the left in his career but has maybe been even better on the right,” Iraola said before Liverpool’s Premier League meeting with Ipswich Town. It was a telling line. Not a throwaway compliment, but a hint that Munoz could become the reference point on that vacant side.

Developing the Kids, Not Just Leaning on Munoz

Even with Munoz seemingly built for the role, Iraola is refusing to simply park a senior player on the right and close the book. He wants Ngumoha to grow there, to stretch his game beyond the comfort of the left touchline.

“We know Rio can play on the left and showed his qualities,” Iraola stressed. “He needs to develop on the right so it gives him more options to play. He is so young. [But] because he wasn't incredible in the first game on the right, we can't say he will never play on the right anymore.”

That’s the crux of it. Liverpool are not just replacing a star; they are reshaping a generation. Short-term, Munoz looks ready-made for that channel. Long-term, Iraola clearly expects Ngumoha to learn the position, to become versatile enough to survive in a squad where competition for the left is already fierce.

The Ipswich Test and Isak’s Supply Line

All of this now moves from theory to reality against Ipswich Town on Friday. The new structure – Barcola slicing in from the left, an evolving solution on the right – needs to start producing goals, not just talking points.

One player stands to gain more than most if the right side finally clicks: Alexander Isak. The Swede is at his most ruthless inside the box, not drifting wide, not dropping deep, but attacking crosses and cut-backs. A more traditional winger on the right, someone who can hit early deliveries and stretch the line, could turn him into a constant menace.

Liverpool’s ability to keep Isak properly fed will say a lot about whether this post-Salah attack can really function. Without that service, the new shape risks becoming lopsided artistry with no finish.

Gakpo’s Fight in a Crowded Left

Amid all this, Cody Gakpo still matters. Manchester City and Tottenham both tested Liverpool’s resolve late in the window, but the Dutchman stayed put and remains a central figure in Iraola’s plans.

He now finds himself in a crowded lane. Barcola is the headline act on the left, Ngumoha is being pushed to learn the right, Munoz is a candidate for both flanks. Gakpo will have to scrap for minutes, adapt, and prove he can thrive in a system no longer built around Salah’s shadow.

Liverpool have chosen the hard road: no direct heir, no easy imitation, just a radical rebalancing of the front line. The question now is simple and unforgiving.

Can this new, inverted attack score enough to make everyone forget how predictable – and how devastating – the old one used to be?