In the cold light of a relentless title race it was two points dropped for Liverpool. In the heat of a gruelling assignment against Fulham, and the glow of an appreciative Anfield, it felt very different indeed. Reduced to 10 men after 17 minutes, and 2-1 down in the 85th, Arne Slot’s Premier League leaders delivered another defiant, tactically astute performance until the last. Victory eluded Liverpool, but the character on display will embolden them.
Marco Silva’s dangerous team led twice through Andreas Pereira and substitute Rodrigo Muniz. The visitors also had the significant advantage of seeing Andy Robertson dismissed early for denying Harry Wilson a goalscoring opportunity. They were unable to capitalise fully owing to Liverpool’s stirring response. Cody Gakpo levelled early in the second half and the fit-again Diogo Jota showed what Slot’s team have missed during his injury absence with another clinical strike.
It was a breathless fixture that both coaches believed they should have won. Liverpool have now dropped points in their last two league games, and were unconvincing against Girona in the Champions League in between, but Slot had only praise for his players here. Not for the referee, however, nor Fulham’s tendency to disrupt Liverpool’s momentum by calling for medical attention.
Fulham’s Issa Diop and Pereira both sailed close to a red card in the opening seven minutes. While Liverpool could complain over the pair receiving only yellow, and Luis Díaz also being booked for a perfectly legitimate attempt at an overhead kick, nothing could detract from the excellence of the visitors’ breakthrough. A consummate team goal started with a Diop clearance to Wilson. The former Liverpool winger, a potent threat throughout, switched play to Alex Iwobi who released Antonee Robinson on the overlap. The Fulham captain’s cross was met on the volley by the stretching Pereira, and his effort flew into the roof of Alisson’s net via the thigh of Robertson.
Misfortune stalked the Liverpool left-back during his short time on the pitch. In the opening seconds he took a heavy blow to the outside of a knee from Diop. An offside flag had already been raised, and Robertson required lengthy treatment while the video assistant referee checked for a potential red card offence. Tony Harrington’s original yellow for a reckless challenge stood. Pereira soon followed the defender into the book for leaving his studs on Ryan Gravenberch’s ankle, having made no attempt to play the ball.
Robertson’s afternoon went further downhill, in contrast to the task confronting Liverpool, when he was shown a straight red card five minutes after the Fulham goal. Slot insisted the early injury and the dismissal were connected. Attempting to cut out another piercing cross-field pass, this time from Sasa Lukic towards Wilson, the Scotland captain’s heavy first touch succeeded only in putting the Wales international through on goal. His next kick sent Wilson tumbling and an inevitable red followed after Virgil van Dijk hooked Raúl Jiménez’s follow-up off the line. Only a lengthy VAR review for a possible offside against Wilson could save Robertson. The Fulham man was eventually ruled on, and the Liverpool man was off.
Slot responded to the early crisis by pulling Mohamed Salah into a central role alongside Díaz, pushing Trent Alexander-Arnold up into right midfield and dropping Gravenberch into defence in a 3-4-2 formation. It was a risky ploy to offer even more space to the dangerous Wilson but, yet again, the Liverpool head coach’s tactical tweaks delivered. Fulham could have profited against the 10 men but a poor final pass, plus an important block by Joe Gomez on Wilson, allowed Liverpool to escape and to settle. The hosts were the dominant force as half-time approached. Díaz had a great opportunity to equalise but headed over from close range when picked out by Dominik Szoboszlai’s first time cross.
The interval did not interrupt Liverpool’s momentum. Two minutes after the restart Salah floated a delightful cross to the far post where the unmarked Gakpo beat Bernd Leno with a diving header. Anfield went wild as VAR checked if Díaz had fouled Kenny Tete as the cross came in. The celebrations went up a notch when it was confirmed he did not, or certainly not enough to warrant the Fulham defender’s collapse from feeling a touch on his arm.
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Silva’s side were rattled. Gradually, however, Fulham regained composure and the lead. Wilson and Iwobi combined to the commanding release Robinson behind the Liverpool substitute Jarell Quansah, who should have been stronger in the duel. Muniz flicked the full-back’s cross beyond Alisson and Gomez at close range.
Back came Liverpool, inspired by the cool heads and vision of the substitutes Jota and Harvey Elliott. Jota collected a pass from another substitute, Darwin Núñez, twisted inside the central defender Jorge Cuenca and slotted a fine finish beyond Leno. Mayhem ensued in the nine minutes of time added on. Jota, Núñez and Díaz all had close range shots charged down. Alisson denied Adama Traoré as Fulham broke for the lead once again. It was an enthralling spectacle and Slot seized the positives.
Source: theguardian.com
