The Spanish coach spent big over the summer in securing deals for Victor Munoz and Bradly Barcola and he's lost just one game from 12 played across all competitions in 2026/27.
Gerrard has backed injury-prone striker Alexander Isak to hit top form in the months ahead - and hailed the early impact of Barcola - but he admitted to concerns over Liverpool's defensive resilience with just one clean sheet in their last five games.
"This team needs Isak fit and available and robust enough to repeat games, because he’s a Premier League goal scorer," said Gerrard on The Overlap Daily.
"Barcola looks rapid, and he now looks match fit with game minutes under his belt. He came in after a preseason with no game time. He’s had a fantastic 10 days/two weeks, and the touch paper’s lit now. You can see the player they’ve signed.
"Now the challenge is: can they defend well enough? Because they've been conceded too many goals. Alexis Mac Allister’s back in top form, Ryan Gravenberch is back in the team, so if we get Dominik Szoboszlai in there, it’s a strong midfield when they’re all fit and available.
"I still think, moving forward, and Iraola might disagree and some Liverpool fans might disagree, Liverpool miss a real strong powerhouse in the middle of the team. Someone to hold the middle of the team and stop people playing through them like a Fabinho, for example. or a Didi Hamann."