Iraola praises Nyoni after first Champions League start

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has praised 19-year-old midfielder Trey Nyoni for his footballing maturity, while urging him to maintain his development trajectory.

Nyoni earned his first Champions League start on Wednesday as Liverpool beat LASK 6-3 in Austria. The appearance was the midfielder's 26th competitive outing for the club since his senior debut in February 2024.

"Trey is a player that I think, being very young with not a lot of minutes in the first team, he's very mature," Iraola told reporters. "He understands the situations very well, he understands the game very well. Tactically, I think he's really smart."

Iraola made clear that Nyoni must keep proving himself across every role and situation. "If he has to play as a six, as an eight, he has to play one minute, he doesn't have to play, he has to start and play all the game like yesterday – he has to be there, putting pressure also on the other midfielders."

The Liverpool manager pointed to Nyoni's performance as evidence that younger players can contribute at the highest level. "I think it's very good for us that we can put these young players with not a lot of experience and they can perform in a competition like the Champions League or in the Premier League," he added.