Iraola: We need to give up control to find goals

Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola said the team must give up some control of the game to solve its creativity problem. Liverpool travel to Crystal Palace on Sunday. The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and kicks off at 14:00.

This season, Liverpool are the second-lowest team in the Premier League for big chances created. In their last five home matches, they scored only four goals, the joint-lowest total at this stage in the club's history. Last week, against Arsenal in a home Premier League match, they did not manage a single shot on target. According to Opta, who have recorded data since 2003, it was the first time in more than 440 home league games that a side had done this.

Iraola arrived at Anfield as a manager known for a direct, high-profile style of football. However, he struggled to get his philosophy across to the new players during his first three months. He now wants the team to take more risks. Iraola said: "We want to increase our goals and concede fewer. The point is to control the game, but sometimes against Fenerbahçe we controlled it too much. We need to send more players into the box. This will take away some of the control, but it will give us more threat."

Iraola noted that the team reaches the final third very often, but that despite a high number of shots and crosses, the quality of chances remains low. In the Arsenal match, Liverpool's xG value was 1.05, and it could have risen significantly had Jurrien Timber's foul on Alexander Isak been given as a clear penalty.