'You play 55 minutes for me and you are dead and ask for a sub, perfect'

Andoni Iraola is looking forward to experiencing his first Champions League game as a manager when Liverpool take on Atletico Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday. "It's a special night for me - everyone talks about Champions League nights at Anfield and also the first game is against a strong opposition," said Iraola. "Diego Simeone is doing an incredible job as a manager, all the years achieving every season the goals of the club is remarkable. It's a big challenge for us. I played against him as a player and when he was a coach and also coached against him. He has much more experience than me but I hope tomorrow, we can give him a good game." Iraola is winless in his four games against Simeone's Atlético Madrid, losing three of them and drawing once. Liverpool face four games in 12 days and Iraola admitted it will be a "challenge" but revealed Bradley Barcola is "ready to play more minutes" after the £123m signing made his debut off the bench at Ipswich on Friday. Earlier in the week, Dominik Szoboszlai told TNT Sports that "no one can stop us" if Liverpool can rediscover their intensity of old. Asked how he would balance the desire for intensity with such a hectic fixture schedule, Iraola said: "I think it's something that has to be in us - we have to be always as intense as possible because I think we are better like this, sometimes we have to control games and be on the ball more. "But you can be on the ball and still be intense by moving the ball fast and making runs. I don't want my players to think we have to save energy because we have a game in three days. You play 55 minutes for me and you are dead and ask for a sub, then perfect. We have a top level 55 minutes and then a top level 35. If I have to choose, I prefer that they are not with a calculator thinking let's win a little bit and not a lot because we have to play in three days. Let's push and do our the best is the way to get used to a higher rhythm. We need to increase our rhythm and the only way is pushing and being more demanding." Cody Gakpo is a doubt for the Atletico Madrid fixture after he missed training on Tuesday as a precaution but there was good news for Iraola, with Joe Gomez returning to training after recovering from a muscle injury he sustained in July during Liverpool's pre-season tour of the USA.