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Iraola's unbeaten start matches a Liverpool record from Fagan in 1983
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๐ฐ Andoni Iraola's Liverpool are unbeaten after five league games, something no Liverpool manager had done since Joe Fagan in 1983.
๐ Key points
๐ Liverpool have two wins and three draws from five league games.
๐๏ธ No manager had started unbeaten in five since Joe Fagan in 1983.
โฝ Alexander Isak's goal won it 1-0 at Iraola's old club Bournemouth on 20 September.
๐ฏ All four of Isak's league goals have been assisted by Cody Gakpo.
๐ Liverpool beat Atlรฉtico Madrid 2-1 in their Champions League opener on 9 September.
๐ What happened
๐๏ธ Iraola, who left Bournemouth for Anfield in the summer, has collected two wins and three draws from five league games. He is the first Liverpool manager since Joe Fagan in September 1983 to go unbeaten in his first five league matches. Fagan's side went on to win the league, the European Cup and the League Cup that season.
โฝ On 20 September Iraola returned to Bournemouth and won 1-0 through Isak. Alisson saved Evanilson's 17th-minute back-heel and Liverpool held on. Iraola admitted he "wasn't happy with the first half, honestly", but called it "a very good result" at "a difficult place to come".
๐งฑ After two 2-2 draws at the start, the defence has tightened. Liverpool have kept three straight league clean sheets for the first time since September 2024, and their four goals conceded is joint-lowest in the league with Leeds and Everton. New centre-back Jeremy Jacquet has settled quickly alongside Virgil van Dijk.
๐ Europe began well too. At Anfield on 9 September, Marcos Llorente put Atlรฉtico ahead before Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister turned it round for a 2-1 win. Liverpool are unbeaten in seven games in all competitions under Iraola.
๐ By the numbers
โข League: P5 W2 D3, 4 conceded (joint-fewest)
โข Three straight league clean sheets (first since September 2024)
โข Isak: 4 league goals, all assisted by Gakpo
๐ญ Why it matters
The run has been built on tight results rather than big wins, so opinions are split. But with the defence settled and Isak scoring, Liverpool have a platform. Their first game after the break is Manchester City on 11 October, a proper test.
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