Champions League news conferences: Iraola on Frimpong & Szoboszlai; Semenyo latest

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola speaking before his side's Champions League match at home to Villarreal

Iraola says he needs to be 'patient' with Dominik Szoboszlai's return to fitness but Jeremie Frimpong's hamstring needs assessing

Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Manchester City forward Antoine Semenyo will miss eight weeks with a leg injury but it's not as bad as first feared

Man City face AEK Athens – Maresca says he 'will see' on Erling Haaland's fitness after the striker limped off on Saturday

Marc Guehi spoke about City's guilty verdict and taking the knee

Close formYour viewsGet involvedLive ReportingWritten by Craig Nelson, Tasnim Chowdhury, Grace Wheeler & Jemma Rice.

Thanks for joining us today for the Manchester City and Liverpool news conferences.

Click on the links to catch up with the top lines.

The BBC Sport website will have live text coverage and radio commentary from this week's Champions League ties, as well as highlights of every match from Wednesday night.

Before this week's European action, the weekend's Premier League concludes tonight as Tottenham host Coventry.

Again, you can follow live text coverage and radio commentary on the BBC Sport website.

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Here's a full round-up of the matches we have coming up this week:

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Sides that finish from ninth to 24th after eight matches will go into the knockout play-offs, while the bottom 12 will bow out of European competition all together.

Slovan Bratislava are rock bottom with no points from their two matches so far and a goal difference of -8.

Their next match is at Roma (25th), who are one of three Italian sides – along with Inter Milan and Napoli – in the bottom 12.

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Right, before we leave you, let's have a quick look at the state of play in this season's Champions League.

Defeat to table toppers Paris St-Germain last time out left Manchester City in 17th place in the table after two rounds of matches.

Aston Villa are the best-placed English side, in third, with Liverpool fifth, Arsenal seventh and Manchester United 13th.

The top eight after eight matches will go straight through to the last 16 of the competition.

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The main news line to come out of Liverpool's news conference today was an injury update on Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong.

With Frimpong, Reds boss Andoni Iraola said that it was "difficult" to see him returning "before the break" from a muscle injury picked up at Brentford.

That means the right-back is unlikely to be available before the Premier League resumes for Liverpool on 22 November – at home to Manchester United – after next month's internationals.

Iraola accepts that Szoboszlai was not ready to return at Brentford following his recent thigh injury and while he says Liverpool now need to show more patience with his recovery "it is not like he has to wait a long time to come back".

Elsewhere, on-loan defender Ronald Araujo said that he was "really happy" at Liverpool but it was "a bit too early" to talk about turning his move from Barcelona into a permanent deal.

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Andoni Iraola spoke positively about Ronald Araujo and how his arrival at Anfield came about as a result of Liverpool's defensive shortages after their pre-season tour this summer.

With Iraola confirming that it will be "difficult" to see Jeremie Frimpong in action before the November international break due to a new injury, the decision to bring Araujo in looks like one that will continue to serve Liverpool well.

Araujo, 27, has started eight of Liverpool's 10 games this season and played primarily at right-back.

As for Dominik Szoboszlai, there will be some relief among Liverpool fans that it's not a new injury but Iraola will know that they must be careful with one of their most important players.

With important Premier League games coming up against Brighton and Arsenal over the next fortnight, Liverpool will hope to have the Hungarian back sooner, rather than later.

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A final word from Ronald Araujo on adapting to life in Liverpool, following his loan move from Barcelona:

"I think people here, it’s like they’re more intense, when you go down the street, when you go out to the centre of Liverpool or when you go out to eat something, but that is lovely.

"You see how they experience football themselves and I'll tell you I'm really happy here, my family is really happy, that’s also very important."

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Ronald Araujo agrees that his experience at Liverpool has been a positive one:

"It’s a really important aspect to feel loved by the people, by the fans, ultimately as I always say, I try to give the very best of myself.

"I really feel represented by the fans when I go onto the pitch and give everything.

"I’m very grateful to every single person because its lovely for a player to go in and to be recognised in that way.

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A final word from Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola on Ronald Araujo's loan signing from Barcelona:

"Ronald was those kinds of situations that probably before the market was not there. We spoke to the player and the first conversation we had with him, it was quite encouraging.

"You see a hungry, experienced player, played at a top club, willing to show his level.

"I asked him straight away, maybe we will need you playing as a right-back. He was ready for everything. Whatever you need.

"He has proven he is ready to help the team and the more he plays, the more he speaks the language and learns from his team-mates, the more we will benefit from his experience.

"Everything has been quite positive with him."

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Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola on the goal he scored for Athletic Club against Villarreal in his last league game for them as a player: "Lovely goal, it was a good goal. Last game for me, very special. I think I had one of the best last days you can ask for.

"We qualified for Europe in that game and I think it was the game before the Copa del Rey final and that was my last match. We won and everyone was happy, but it has been a long time. I remember that day for very well."

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Andoni Iraola on his first 10 games as Liverpool boss: "I don't even have time to think. It's already 10 matches. It has been a bit of everything, we don't have time to reflect on a lot of things.

"As soon as we finished at Brentford, on the bus coming back I was looking at the Villarreal report.

"We are learning through the process and we adapt to the circumstances…we have to learn every day and improve, especially improve."

On comparisons to his first 10 games as Bournemouth manager [they failed to win any of their opening nine league matches]: "I think the results were better at Liverpool. It was very difficult to start in Bournemouth. From then we had a good run of games and I hope here also we can continue in a good place."

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Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola on how much he has learnt about his squad:

"You learn by going through those difficulties. Until you are under the pressure of having to try Victor [Munoz] in a position he hasn't played or going against a result or play with 10 players.

"This gives us knowledge about each other.

"When you are in half-time and you are in a difficult situation and have to adapt [such as Saturday's win at Brentford]. Those situations you can't expect and have to react, it shows character of the players."

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Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola on Víctor Munoz: "Victor is a player that we know very well. I have a great relationship with Alessio Lisci, his manager in the previous season, he also speaks very well [of Munoz].

"Once you have the player you really understand what he gives to the group.

"Attitude-wise, I think he is ready to help in whatever position we need him.

"He is playing right, left, the other day he played right-back. This is a player with hunger.

"He hasn't played professionally in a big club like Liverpool, but he has been in the Barcelona and Real Madrid academies. He has trained with those teams, he knows what is required.

"With the national team, he has had experience so he is a player that is adapting really well."

953Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing Image source, Getty ImagesI like Victor Munoz as the Salah replacement, he's young but so fast and direct, his cut back goal at the weekend was pure Salahesque! Give him a chance and I think we have a winner!

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Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola on wanting to bring Inigo Perez with him to Bournemouth: "We tried to take him to England, he was here but he couldn't work. He didn't receive the work permit. We tried to do everything to convince the panel. I complained in the moment because I came with just two guys, but it has worked well for him also. Now he is coaching in the Champions League with Villarreal and I am so, so happy for him."

More on Perez's disappointment when UK work permit was denied: "It was very difficult, he is very professional. He wanted to work in Bournemouth but until you have the work permit, you cannot do anything. There was a moment when we realised it was not going to be possible."

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Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola on Villarreal: "For me it is a special game because Inigo [Perez, Villarreal boss] is my friend. We know each other since the academy years in Athletic Club, we played with each other in the first team. As soon as he retired, I was quick enough to grab him to help as an assistant. We've been through a lot of things together.

"It is a privilege for me to face him in a Champions League game. He knows me very well, he knows everything. It is a team that I follow, I know the players and it is going to be a little bit strange but in a good way."

On whether he has spoken to Perez before the game: "When these things happen [facing each other in a match], it is not good for relationships. I talk to him a lot, but when you know you are going to face each other, you stop talking because you leave the distance, you don't want to… Lately, it is probably the moment we have talked less.

"We normally call time to talk about La Liga, the Premier League, about football, other stuff, about our families. But now when the game gets closer, we haven't been in touch."

427Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing Araujo indeed has added something to this Liverpool squad. To get a player of his kind to play in more than one position is a plus under the circumstances. Kudos to Andoni Iraola for the choice he made in bringing him from the Nou-Camp.

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Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola on balancing players' workloads during a busy period of games: "I am thinking of putting the best starting XI that I can against Villarreal. But maybe it is not the one that you are thinking, because some players are not fresh enough.

"Probably it is better if someone is more fresh to start but I am analysing the game, how can I put a good starting XI and think in the second half, how can we effect [the game] with the changes?

"We know that we have a busy schedule until the next international break but we have to take the games one by one because it changes, you cannot plan too much.

"We go one by one and try to focus on how the players recover from the other day.

"I think it [Saturday's Premier League game at Brentford] was the most demanding game in terms of the running stats that we have played, because Brentford demand this.

"It is important that every one that starts tomorrow feels ready to go and 100%."

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Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola on the pressure of winning at home – with four consecutive games against Villarreal, Brighton, Chelsea (League Cup) and Arsenal coming up at Anfield: "It is true that we have had better results away than at home, but it is just the beginning. We had very good games, Atletico was a good game, Spurs at home was a very good game.

"Today we are playing a different competition, the Champions League.

"If you ask me, I always prefer to play at home. I prefer 100% to play at home.

"It is true the demands of the game for each one is different. We take it one by one.

"For me, now it is Villarreal, that's it. It finishes there. Prepare and focus on that one, it is going to be demanding tomorrow, I know them very well and we need to do a game like we did with Atletico for example and go on to win them."

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Dominik Szoboszlai was withdrawn on 32 minutes against Brentford on Saturday after a recurrence of the thigh injury that kept him out of matches against Manchester City and LASK, while Jeremie Frimpong came off with a hamstring problem, six minutes after being introduced as a second-half substitute.

Andoni Iraola said on Saturday that he expected both players could be missing for "some time".

Concerns for Szoboszlai now seem to have eased somewhat, but the Reds boss says that it is unlikely Frimpong would be fit to resume playing before next month's international break.