Why are Liverpool not creating big chances and how can Andoni Iraola fix it?

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There will be huge frustration at the fact that the Reds were beaten again at home, and there should be worry over Liverpool’s recent record at Anfield, but the fact that they pinned Arsenal back for a big portion of the game was definitely a good sign.However, for all of their dominance, Liverpool failed to have a single shot on target, and there has been alarm over the circulation of a statistic that the Reds have generated the second least amount of ‘big chances’ in the Premier League this season so far. Liverpool’s big chance struggles are an Iraola problem Although it felt like Liverpool were finding it hard to carve out clear chances last season, they actually ended the campaign having made the sixth-most, generating 100 ‘big’ opportunities.

Wirtz has been better recently, but from looking at his heatmap in the Premier League so far this season, it is clear that he is pulling left, regularly occupying a space just behind the left winger, which has usually been Bradley Barcola. Though he has badly failed to live up to that billing, the German is still Liverpool’s biggest creator of chances, and only Pascal Gross has laid on more than the 22 opportunities he has made so far.

None of those have been categorised as big chances, though, showing that while Wirtz is capable of being Liverpool’s biggest creator, they have to get him in areas where he can be more effective. He has the quality, Liverpool just need to coax it out of him.