Bradley Barcola’s highly anticipated first start for Liverpool ended in a brief moment of alarm on Wednesday night as the forward was forced off during the Reds’ Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid.
The £123m signing, who arrived from Paris Saint-Germain in a high-profile deal last week, looked sharp early on at Anfield, coming close to marking his full debut with a goal on two separate occasions. However, his evening was prematurely curtailed just before the hour mark when he pulled up clutching his calf.
The sight of the Frenchman receiving treatment from the club’s medical staff sparked immediate concern among the home faithful, given the scale of the investment Liverpool made in his services. Following a short period of assessment on the pitch and some consolation from his teammates, Barcola was substituted, with Victor Munoz entering the fray to take his place.
Despite the initial fears of a muscular injury that could sideline the new recruit, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola moved quickly to dampen the speculation after the final whistle. The Reds secured a dramatic 2-1 victory thanks to a second-half resurgence, with Dominik Szoboszlai cancelling out Marcos Llorente’s opener before Alexis Mac Allister fired home a decisive winner.
Addressing the media following the game, Iraola clarified that Barcola had not suffered a long-term setback.
“No, it’s just cramps, especially with Bradley,” the Liverpool boss confirmed. “We are kind of rushing him a little bit as he hasn’t played any minutes in pre-season. We want him there, but at the end, we decided for him to give us whatever he has, and let’s see now how they recover for the next one, as we play again in three days.”
Barcola, who saw his summer preparations disrupted by international duty at the World Cup, made his first brief appearance for his new club as a substitute in Friday’s Premier League opener against Ipswich Town. Prior to Wednesday’s European fixture, Iraola had emphasized the need to manage the 23-year-old’s workload carefully, noting that while the player was fit to start, he likely wouldn’t possess the match sharpness to complete the full 90 minutes.
“I don’t think he can probably finish the game,” Iraola had remarked to TNT Sports prior to kick-off. “We’ll see how he does, but we need some freshness.”
With the intensity of the campaign set to ramp up, the news that Barcola’s withdrawal was merely a precaution due to lack of match fitness will come as a major relief to the Anfield coaching staff as they prepare for the busy schedule ahead.
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