Andoni Iraola explains the reason behind his decision to leave Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola on the bench in the 4-3 win over Villarreal in the Champions League

Andoni Iraola admitted he wasn't prepared to risk Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz or Bradley Barcola from the start after Liverpool's comeback win against Villarreal at Anfield.

The Reds fought back from 2-0 down to win 4-3 on the night and secure a third victory in six days following triumphs at LASK and Brentford last week.

After Georges Mikautadze and Sergi Cardona had given the visitors a two-goal advantage, headers from Alexis Mac Allister and Ronald Araujo sent the sides in level.

Mac Allister then made it 3-2 in the second period after great work from Rio Ngumoha before substitute Wirtz fired in his first goal of the season to render Tani Oluwaseyi's late effort a consolation.

Iraola made six changes in total on the night and explained why he didn't feel he could start the £125m Isak, £116m Wirtz or £123m Barcola after a punishing run following the international break.

"I am quite clear, with Alex Isak we couldn’t risk today," the Liverpool head coach said. "And with Florian and Bradley it would have been their fourth start in 10 days, we played a game against Brentford that was physically very demanding.

Make sure you never miss the latest Liverpool FC news and opinion by making Liverpool Echo one of your Google preferred sources.

"Florian has played three games consecutively very well, away against LASK, Brentford and today in the second half, he gives us a lot of control and he is a very dynamic player with and without the ball.

"It is difficult for players to mark him, he has played well but maybe not had the numbers, so that doesn’t stand out a great deal.

"But I was trying to get him for five minutes to talk about the game because what I would say is he is playing very, very well and I am very happy to have him."

On Mac Allister, Iraola added: "Today Alexis played like a higher position. He can arrive inside the box like a No.8, he can arrive in the half spaces, the first goal from a set-piece, it is a great goal.

"He is not the tallest but he also has character. When you are 2-0 down, not playing well, he doesn’t panic, he has the experience has won a lot of things and it is lovely to have him.

"A lot of things happened today. They were much better than us in the first half, and we were much better in the second half.

"When we've been under pressure, we answered well. When we relaxed, we made mistakes. You cannot relax against very good opposition. I value the win."

Liverpool return to action when they host Brighton at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.