Liverpool's Premier League goal drought reveals a problem Iraola hasn't solved yet

Liverpool have scored just nine goals in seven Premier League matches this season, a return of 1.29 per game that looks almost unrecognisable next to their output in cup and European competition, where they have hit 15 goals in four fixtures at 3.75 per game. The gap, first highlighted by BBC Sport, is now so pronounced that manager Andoni Iraola admitted after Tuesday's Champions League win over Villarreal that he 'doesn't really know the reason' for it.

That uncertainty lands at an awkward moment. Brighton, who have scored 23 Premier League goals this season, arrive at Anfield on Sunday with Liverpool still searching for their first home league win under Iraola.

The numbers: a tale of two Liverpools

The split is stark enough to demand scrutiny rather than a shrug. In the Premier League, Liverpool have managed nine goals from seven matches. Across three Champions League outings and a Carabao Cup tie against Tottenham, they have scored 15, including six against LASK in Austria and four against Villarreal at Anfield just days apart.

Ten scorers, one problem

The post-Mohamed Salah era has not left Liverpool short of attacking contributors. The club have used 10 different goalscorers already this campaign, evidence that the goal threat has been redistributed rather than lost entirely. But redistribution has not yet translated into Premier League end product.

• Premier League: 9 goals in 7 games (1.29 per game)
• Cup and European competition: 15 goals in 4 games (3.75 per game)
• 10 different goalscorers across all competitions this season

Iraola's own framing of the contrast points to opposition and game state as much as any lack of quality.

"In the Premier League, we are not scoring at this level and also we are probably defending better. They are different kind of games and different kind of opposition, I think more than [the difference being] the competitions, it is who you have played against," Iraola said.

Iraola's explanation, and why it doesn't fully add up

Part of Iraola's answer holds up under scrutiny. Liverpool have conceded first in four of their seven league games this season, and have faced a low block in 28% of their Premier League matches, more than any other side in the division, while sitting against a high block in just 15% of games, the fewest of any club, according to BBC Sport.

The low-block contradiction

Here is where the explanation starts to strain. Back in July, in his first press conference as Liverpool boss, Iraola was asked about his tactical principles and explicitly said he welcomed exactly this scenario.

"I prefer to face low blocks in terms of the way we will be in control of the games, probably we will concede less chances and spend a lot of time in the opposition half... I am looking forward to spending as much time inside the opposition half, with the ball and without the ball, because I feel we are closer to scoring from that position," he said in July.

That is not a minor detail. It means Iraola is now facing, at elevated frequency, the exact scenario he said he wanted, and his side are still struggling to turn territory into goals. This is precisely the problem that dogged Arne Slot during his second season at Anfield, when Liverpool repeatedly failed to break down deep-lying defences in the league. The identity of the manager has changed; the tactical weakness has not.

Squad context: Araujo's defensive boost and Barcola's fitness doubts

Iraola's claim that Liverpool are 'defending better' in the league is the stronger half of his argument, and the numbers support it. Liverpool have kept three clean sheets and conceded eight goals in seven Premier League games, compared to eight conceded in just four cup and European fixtures, per BBC Sport's figures.

Araujo settling in quickly

Some of that defensive improvement traces back to the summer business. Ronald Araujo, signed on a season-long loan from Barcelona with an option worth around €55million (£46m-£47m), has made an instant impact, with Liverpool reportedly increasingly open to converting the loan into a permanent deal if his form continues, CaughtOffside reports.

Barcola's fitness a concern before Brighton

Less reassuring for the attacking side of the equation is the uncertainty around Bradley Barcola. The French winger was missing from Liverpool's main training session ahead of the Brighton game, though reports indicate there is no serious alarm over his absence, according to CaughtOffside. Even so, it is a reminder that Liverpool's attacking unit may not be at full strength for a fixture that was already shaping up as a stern examination of their goalscoring problem.

Brighton at Anfield: the ultimate litmus test

Sunday's fixture could hardly be better designed to interrogate this exact issue. Brighton have scored 23 Premier League goals this season, more than double Liverpool's tally of nine, and Liverpool still have not won a home league match under Iraola.

A front-foot project still finding its feet

Liverpool's summer rebuild, featuring signings such as Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, was built around delivering the kind of front-foot, space-exploiting football that made Iraola's reputation at Bournemouth. One current Champions League analyst suggested the gap reflects a genuine tactical adjustment rather than a lack of talent:

"You have more moments of technical brilliance in European football so the players they [Liverpool] have recruited That results in more chances and more goals but the Premier League is completely different. Iraola's style benefits from having the space to attack and we saw that at Bournemouth," the analyst told BBC Sport.

Brighton, unlike LASK or Villarreal, are unlikely to sit in a deep low block and invite pressure. That could, paradoxically, play into Liverpool's hands if the analysis is correct, but it will also be the clearest test yet of whether Iraola's attack can function against a side playing on the front foot in the Premier League itself.

What happens next

Sunday's match at Anfield is now more than three points. It is a direct referendum on whether Liverpool's Premier League goal drought is a function of facing stubborn, low-block opposition, as Iraola insists, or a deeper structural issue that survived the transition from Slot to Iraola.

A home win and a goal-heavy performance against a Brighton side in good attacking form would support Iraola's version of events and ease growing scrutiny on his start at Anfield. Another low-scoring afternoon, by contrast, would strengthen the case that Liverpool's problem breaking down Premier League defences is structural, regardless of who set up the low block or who is picking the team.

With Barcola's involvement uncertain and Araujo continuing to stake his claim for a permanent deal, the team Iraola selects will itself say something about how he intends to solve the puzzle he admits he cannot yet fully explain.