Liverpool coach Andoni Iraola believes that Bradley Barcola, who recently joined the team, does not need special preparation after his first appearance in the 2-0 win over Ipswich Town on Friday.
Barkola came on as a substitute after 64 minutes, playing his first match since participating in the 2026 World Cup bronze medal match between France and England.
After long negotiations, Liverpool announced on Monday its contract with Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain for 106 million pounds sterling (144.5 million US dollars) as a first payment, in addition to another 17 million pounds sterling financial incentives.
“We have to deal with Barcola with caution, because he has been out of action since the World Cup,” Iraola said in statements reported by the British news agency (PA Media).
The Spanish coach added: “He is training well, he is in good condition, and I think he has helped us.” Perhaps we did not notice his movements in some situations in which he was advancing toward the goal with the goalkeeper.”
He continued: “Barcola becomes more dangerous whenever he has possession of the ball, and his participation in 30 minutes will be useful in preparing him physically for this season’s competitions.”
The Liverpool coach continued: “We will continue to work, and we have many matches ahead of us, so he will have more opportunity to play.”
He continued: “It is natural for us to be patient with him, because he did not participate in any friendly match during the preparation period, and despite that, his condition is good.”
Iraola concluded: “I do not think he needs a special plan to prepare him, but we must not forget that he has not participated for a long time, and we must also take into account that the atmosphere of matches is different from training.”
Schalke returned to its home stadium in the German League in the best possible way, after forcing its guest, Bayern Munich, the defending champion, to a goalless draw, on Saturday, in the second round of the “Bundesliga”, in a match whose first hero was goalkeeper Loris Karius.
Bayern entered the confrontation in high spirits after beginning the campaign to defend its title by sweeping Stuttgart 5-1, but Schalke, who returned this season to the top flight, refused to turn their first appearance at the Veltins Arena after returning into an outing for the Bavarian team.
Bayern imposed pressure in search of a goal that would break the hosts' resilience, and threatened Schalke's goal on more than one occasion, but Karius regained some of his old luster, and repelled dangerous attempts, most notably against Englishman Harry Kane and Colombian Luis Diaz, to keep his sheet clean until the final whistle.
The draw stopped Bayern's perfect start in the "Bundesliga", and gave Schalke a valuable point that carries great moral value at the beginning of its career after returning to the first division.
As for Bayern, they exited Gelsenkirchen with two lost points and an early message that the path to retaining the title may not be easy, before turning their attention to their next match in the Champions League against their Norwegian guest, Bodo Glimt, on Thursday evening.
Chinese Cheng Qinwen succeeded in coming back from a 5-0 deficit in the decisive set to beat American Madison Keys 1-6, 7-6, 7-5 in the third round of the US Open Tennis Championship, on Saturday, while she is struggling to recover from a chronic right elbow injury that has hampered her career.
The Olympic champion was forced to compete in the qualifiers only two years after she reached the quarter-finals for the second time, in light of a decline in her career that forced her to undergo surgery last year, and she fell on the field in joy after the victory.
Keys, ranked 22nd, made an amazing comeback in the second round when she saved five match points against Anna Bondar, but luck was not on her side this time, as she squandered her lead and let the victory slip from her hands in the final moments of the match.
In the next round, Zheng will face either Iga Švūntek, winner of six major titles, or Czech Marie Bouzkova, who will face each other later on Saturday.
“Finally, I got a little lucky,” Cheng said. I am very happy, and I know that she made a strong comeback in the last match as well. “It was a very exciting match for me, but we both gave a very strong performance.”
Cheng lost her serve with a double fault in the fourth game, and Keys broke her serve without giving her any points in the penultimate game of the first set, as the American seemed on her way to winning easily.
But Cheng turned the tables in the second set, fighting back in the tiebreak before clinching the set with a powerful winner from the baseline.
Keys pressed hard in the third set, but Zheng was able to stop her momentum, saving a match point in the seventh game before getting a break of serve with a decisive forehand.
Keys' nerves began to collapse from that moment, as errors piled up on her before she lost the match at match point with a kick that went slightly outside the court.
