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In the not-so distant past when they were vying for a right-back role with Spain, Andoni Iraola often lost out to Álvaro Arbeloa. The points were shared at Anfield on Saturday, but the Liverpool head coach was thwarted by his old adversary once again as Fulham deservedly claimed the first Premier League point of Arbeloa’s tenure.
The visitors belied their lowly position and a run of three successive league defeats to take a point from a Liverpool side that represented a pale imitation of their Champions League selves against Atlético Madrid on Wednesday.
Whether it was the after-effects of the win, with a quick turnaround between fixtures, or the three changes Iraola made, hardly a significant amount, the deterioration in Liverpool’s performance was dramatic. They were sluggish and sloppy in possession – Florian Wirtz and Kostas Tsimikas put simple passes straight out of play in the first half – and Fulham bypassed their midfield repeatedly. Tsimikas’s return to the starting lineup lasted all of 45 underwhelming minutes.
Another factor in Liverpool’s subdued performance was Fulham’s confidence on the ball and defensive organisation. For a team arriving at Anfield with only defeats to their name in the Premier League this season, their belief and willingness to attack was hugely impressive. With more conviction in front of goal, they could have capitalised on Liverpool’s slow start.
Bradley Barcola created an early, difficult chance for Alexander Isak with a measured pass behind the Fulham defence. Liverpool’s No 9 just missed the far post from a tight angle. Victor Muñoz went closer still with a glancing header from a Dominik Szoboszlai corner. Bernd Leno, the Fulham goalkeeper, reacted superbly to claw the ball away from just under his crossbar. But that was the sum total of Liverpool’s enterprise in the first half, with an attacking quartet that cost almost £400m.
Fulham were given a glorious opportunity when Alisson played a ridiculous pass to Ryan Gravenberch under pressure from Sander Berge on the edge of his own area. The loose ball fell to Josh King, catching the eye yet again in the visiting attack, who was sent flying by the Liverpool keeper, but the referee Thomas Bramall played a good advantage as Gonzalo García took over. Garcia had time to pick his spot only for Jérémy Jacquet to block his shot in front of the goalline.
The visitors prospered down their left and Oscar Bobb missed another good opening when, unmarked and 18 yards out, he mis-controlled Alex Iwobi’s pinpoint delivery. Jacquet came to Liverpool’s rescue once again seconds later when preventing García breaking through with an excellent challenge. Antonee Robinson would head wide before the interval from Bobb’s right-wing cross.
Liverpool were deserving of a few home truths during the break – chiefly, you would have been slaughtered for this last season under Arne Slot – and did perform with greater intensity and purpose in the second half. But not with any more threat. The introductions of Cody Gakpo, Alexis Mac Allister and Milos Kerkez brought a measure of improvement, but Fulham continued to contain the hosts comfortably. Calvin Bassey in particular had a commanding game against Isak.
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The visitors remained dangerous on the counterattack and Alisson pushed away a King effort that was heading for the top corner after the forward had cut inside Jacquet to create space for himself. His replacement, Rodrigo Muniz, also let a decent chance run away from him inside the area and the substitute Kevin dragged a shot wide from 18 yards.
Isak finally escaped Bassey’s attentions in stoppage time to flick Szoboszlai’s corner wide of the far post from close range. There was still time for one more Liverpool raid when Jeremie Frimpong escaped down the right and crossed through the heart of the Fulham area. The ball struck Rio Ngumoha and sailed over, leaving Liverpool with a third draw from four league games at the start of Iraola’s reign.
