Iraola's worrying verdict on Liverpool's biggest problem with Bradley Barcola affected

Andoni Iraola suggested that his Liverpool players were already struggling with the physical toll of playing every three days after their lethargic performance against Fulham.

The Reds were held to a 0-0 draw by Alvaro Arbeloa's side at Anfield on Saturday, three days after their 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. Iraola made just three changes to his starting line-up for the match, but didn't get the desired performance from his side.

His front four of Alexander Isak, Bradley Barcola, Florian Wirtz and Victor Munoz cost the club nearly £400million, but failed to really test Bernd Leno. Fulham arguably had the better of the chances and were well worth their first point of the Premier League season.

While competing across competitions in nothing new for Liverpool, Iraola is experiencing the Champions League for the first time following his move from Bournemouth this summer. His explanation for Liverpool's lacklustre performance may be of concern to supporters.

FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FB PAGE! Latest Reds news and more on our dedicated Facebook page

Get our comprehensive football coverage, with news, updates, opinions, analysis and everything that matters to you, straight to your inbox.

To get it, it's a quick and easy one-two:

1. Head THIS WAY

"When you draw, especially at home, you can't be happy. Today we lacked a bit of freshness and we did not do enough offensively to make the difference," he told Match of the Day.

"We have been good enough to keep the clean sheet. It was slightly better in the second half. In the first half we started the game slow, we lacked energy and it was not enough, we have to be offensively better.

"It is less than three days, 60 hours, [since the Atletico Madrid match] and a lot of players had to adapt. Most of the changes were for physical reasons because the players were tired, but that is the season and in less than three days we will be here against Spurs [in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday]. We have to adapt and find ways to win."

Barcola started on the wing for the second time in three days, having missed two brilliant chances to get off the mark for Liverpool in the win over Atletico Madrid. Having played 60 minutes on Tuesday, he lasted 72 against Fulham, but the £123m signing from Paris Saint-Germain was ineffective.

"Bradley is one we are building up physically with games and the games will give him the condition we want," Iraola said. "But it is not just Bradley, we lack the freshness.

"I only remember one clear chance [for Fulham] and we kept the structure but offensively we need to do much better."

Iraola remains unbeaten as Liverpool manager, but their three draws from four matches represents a slow start to the Premier League campaign. The Reds are next in action against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday before travelling to Iraola's former club Bournemouth next Sunday in the league.