Munoz, Szoboszlai - Liverpool injury news and return dates before Brighton
Georges Mikautadze opened the scoring for the visitors at Anfield just four minutes in off the back of a laboured header back toward Alisson from Virgil van Dijk. Villarreal doubled their advantage just 25 minutes later, carving open the Reds' defence with some stellar passing before Sergi Cardona converted from close range.
Alexis Mac Allister was able to give Liverpool a foothold in the game with around 10 minutes left in the first-half, leaping from a corner to reduce the deficit. Ronald Araujo then found himself at the right place at the right time in stoppage time to ensure a level foundation to build upon in the second-half, latching onto a looping ball from Rio Ngumoha at the back post.
Mac Allister then gave his side the lead for the first time 65 minutes into the clash, Ngumoha once again the creator as he drove along the byline with ease before putting it on a plate for the Argentine to tap home. Florian Wirtz then put the game to bed three minutes later, slotting the ball home from the centre of the area.
While Tani Oluwaseyi clawed a goal back with around three minutes left to play to make it 4-3, it was a case of too little, too late for the La Liga mainstays, who left Anfield empty-handed. Iraola was without a number of his key men for the European encounter, and could face a similar headache for this weekend's game against Brighton in the English top flight.
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Here, the ECHO breaks down all of the latest Liverpool injury news and potential return dates for sidelined players...
Victor Munoz missed training this week as a result of a knee injury, and was also absent from Tuesday's win over Villarreal. Speaking about his issue during his press conference on Wednesday, Iraola explained: "Victor has a knock.
"He could finish the Brentford game but he is dealing with some pain. Too early vs Villarreal, difficult for tomorrow but I really don't know."
Potential return date: Sunday, October 25 vs Brighton (H)
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Bradley Barcola was also spotted training alone on Thursday following a heavy workload over the last fortnight. The Frenchman played 250 minutes in total over the space of six days, as Liverpool faced Manchester City, LASK and Brentford. He also managed 16 minutes against Villarreal.
Thankfully, Iraola should have the winger available this weekend, should he need him. He said: "Bradley has trained today as normal. No problem, sometimes we just have to you know...with the workloads, but he is fine."
Potential return date: Sunday, October 25 vs Brighton (H)
Dominik Szoboszlai was withdrawn during the first half of Liverpool's 2-1 win over Brentford last weekend, and has not featured since. While he has returned to personal training, he is unavailable for selection this weekend.
Potential return date: Wednesday, October 28 vs Chelsea (H)
Jeremy Frimpong is also currently waiting in the wings as a result of a muscular injury picked up against Brentford. Speaking ahead of Tuesday's match with Villarreal, Iraola said: "Jeremie Frimpong is obviously a new muscle injury and it happened, I think, in the second or third minute he was playing, difficult to predict and we will have to wait until he recovers.
"But it’s going to be difficult, I think, before the [November international] break. We will try but it’s going to be difficult to have him."
Potential return date: Sunday, November 8 vs Crystal Palace (A)
Hugo Ekitike has also been sidelined since picking up an Achilles tendon rupture toward the back end of last season. He is not expected to return to the beautiful game until the turn of the year.
Potential return date: December/January
Conor Bradley is yet to feature for the Reds since sustaining a knee injury against Arsenal in January. While he is thought to be in the final stages of his recovery, Sunday's match comes a little too soon for the Northern Irishman.
Potential return date: Unknown