Andoni Iraola praised Ronald Araujo after the defender impressed in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
Alexander Isak scored his sixth goal of the campaign after Pascal Gross turned Florian Wirtz’s shot into his own net to double Liverpool’s advantage.
The Reds then defended resolutely in the second half to keep the Premier League’s highest-scoring team at bay.
Ronald Araujo, who started at right-back, played a key role in securing the clean sheet as Liverpool recorded their fourth shutout in eight games.
The victory moved them into the top four following Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Liverpool have conceded just one league goal while playing with 11 men since August, and Iraola was delighted with Araujo’s contribution.
The defender joined from Barcelona on a season-long loan, with Liverpool having the option to make the move permanent for £47million next year.
“It helps a lot [to have Ronald],” said the Liverpool head coach. “I think we all enjoyed watching Ronald fighting. I think he’s very good in the duels.
“Even the first goal, I think he wins two duels in a row, he arrives at the byline and after, it’s not an assist, but it’s worth an assist. And defensively, I think he’s been really, really really good.
“I’m happy for him because I’ve taken him out in the last two games, because we needed more offensive things, at half-time and he has continued working with no issues and today we needed him more. He has given a very, very good 90 minutes.
“[We defended well] especially in the second half. Second half obviously we defended lower, we didn’t give so much space. It was 50-50 in the first half.
“Both defences were quite high and then there was space in behind both defensive lines. Second half, I think we were more compact.
“But, it’s a team that if you see stats and they cross a lot, so you have to do the basics very well, you have to clear the ball very well, you have to block shots very well, block crosses, win second balls.
“And I think overall our defenders have been have been good doing the those basics.”
Iraola added: “I don’t know [if this is the my most significant win at Liverpool], I think it’s a valuable win but I also liked the two Champions League games here.
“I enjoyed the Atletico Madrid game a lot, and even the other day, the comeback. Today, considering we know the run of games that are coming, I think it’s a very valuable win but I hope we can have better ones.”
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