A real surprise: Andoni Iraola has a new weapon and it makes Liverpool lethal

Liverpool didn't do Andoni Iraola any favours at the start of his time in charge. He's got a new weapon, though, and that changes everything.

We're not sure it was a good idea to give Andoni Iraola zero natural right-wingers to start his Liverpool career. That's the job at hand, though, as the Reds let Mohamed Salah leave the club but never actually signed anyone to fill his role.

And filling that role didn't necessarily mean 'focal point of the attack'. Liverpool have other players for that. It just meant signing someone who could naturally play on the right wing, given it's very much still a role that the team calls for.

Instead, Liverpool provided Iraola with four left-wingers, all of whom are right-footed. That's not to say that none of them can play on the right but it's not their natural game and going on the outside of defenders to hit the byline isn't making the most of their skillset.

Or at least, we didn't think it was. Iraola may have changed all of that, though.

Andoni Iraola's new weapon

Iraola has had to make do with what he's been provided, of course. That's the life of a 'head coach' who doesn't necessarily have a final say on incoming transfers.

We'd argue he's done spectacularly well given the circumstances, too, as the Spaniard has essentially given himself a new weapon with some clever coaching. Rio Ngumoha has been a revelation on the right.

The winger is naturally a left-sided player but Iraola has trusted him to change flanks this season. It's actually at the point now where Ngumoha might be better on the right, in fact.

After all, he's not quite a major goal threat just yet and cutting inside merely offers some threat from Ngumoha, rather than an out-and-out concern for teams. From the right, though? He can make magic happen as a creative force.

The cut-back is one of the hardest to defend attacks in football but requires players who can get right to the byline and inside the box. Sometimes movement and quick passing is enough to get that done but sometimes it needs an individual who can run at defenders and manoeuvre in tight spaces.

Ngumoha showed he can do that, particularly against Villarreal where he was outstanding. His ability to stretch the opposition defence and turn them towards their own goal feels much, much more valuable than his cutting inside right now - and adds a dimension to this attack that Liverpool otherwise lack.

That's all thanks to Iraola, who has done incredibly to work with a squad that didn't have a natural right-winger. It's starting to look like the role might be natural to one of them after all, though, and Ngumoha feels like a player transformed.