Анфилд талбайд болсон тоглолтод Ливерпүүл болон Фулхэм гоолгүй тэнцсэнээр талбайн эзэд боломжоо ашиглаж чадсангүй.
Премьер лигийн эхний гурван тоглолтдоо дараалан хожигдоод байсан Фулхэм энэ удаад хамгаалалтаа нягт барьж, Антони Ираолагийн удирдсан Ливерпүүлийг гоол оруулах боломжгүй болгожээ. Аваргуудын лигт Атлетико Мадридыг хожсоны дараа талбайдаа гарсан Ливерпүүл тоглолтын турш санаачилгыг гартаа авч чадаагүй бөгөөд дамжуулалтын алдаа ихтэй, эрч хүч сул тоглолт үзүүлсэн байна.
Антони Ираола гарааны бүрэлдэхүүндээ Костас Цимикас, Райан Гравенберч болон Виктор Муноз нарыг оруулж ирсэн ч тэдний тоглолт төдийлөн үр дүнтэй байсангүй. Тоглолтын явцад Алиссоны алдаатай дамжуулалтаас үүдэн Фулхэм гоол оруулах дөхсөн ч Жереми Жакет бөмбөгийг хаалганы шугамын өмнөөс хамгаалж чаджээ.
Шинэ тоглогчид болох Брэдли Баркола болон Виктор Муноз нар анх удаа хамтдаа гараанд гарсан ч Фулхэмийн сахилга баттай хамгаалалтыг сэтэлж чадаагүй байна. Ливерпүүл ийнхүү Премьер лигийн эхний дөрвөн тоглолтын дараа нэг хожил, гурван тэнцээтэйгээр улирлыг үргэлжлүүлж байгаа бөгөөд ирэх есдүгээр сарын 15-нд Тоттенхэмтэй Карабао цомын тэмцээний хүрээнд хүч үзнэ.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
A below-par Liverpool were held to a goalless draw by Fulham at Anfield, a result which maintains their unbeaten start to the season but will surely be viewed as a missed opportunity.
The visitors had lost their opening three Premier League games and have looked vulnerable defensively under former Liverpool right-back Alvaro Arbeloa, but Andoni Iraola’s side could not take advantage.
There was a full league debut for Bradley Barcola but he had a quiet afternoon as the home side failed to follow up their Champions League victory against Atletico Madrid with another win.
Were Liverpool suffering a European hangover?
Andoni Iraola is juggling league and Champions League commitments for the first time (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
Iraola enjoyed his first experience of coaching in the Champions League in midweek, but he would not have been pleased with how the demand of three games in a week seemed to impact his players.
Iraola admitted when he arrived at Liverpool that working out how to get his team to play the high-intensity style he wants three times a week was something he was going to have to learn. Not since his first managerial job, in 2018 at AEK Larnaca (he led them to the Europa League group stage) has he had to balance the demands of domestic and European football — and this is at a much higher standard.
After an initial bright opening when Alexander Isak flashed a shot past the post after being put through by Barcola, Liverpool were sluggish. In possession they repeatedly misplaced routine passes and lacked dynamism. Off the ball they did not have the same intensity that was evident in the victory over Atletico.
Iraola did make changes to his starting XI, bringing in Kostas Tsimikas, Ryan Gravenberch and Victor Munoz for Milos Kerkez, Alexis Mac Allister and Rio Ngumoha. All three featured from the bench on Wednesday, but with the exception of a couple of bright moments from Munoz, they did not particularly look fresher than their team-mates. It was telling that the three players who were brought into the team were the first three players taken off by Iraola.
Liverpool were fortunate not to go behind after Alisson’s ill-advised backpass to Gravenberch resulted in Jeremy Jacquet clearing a Fulham shot off the line. Arbeloa’s team were able to play through Liverpool’s press frequently.
Liverpool’s schedule does not relent before and after the international break, so Iraola will need to find a solution moving forward.
How did Barcola and Munoz do on their first start together?
Liverpool’s priority in the summer transfer window was adding pace and dynamism in attack and they did that by adding Barcola and Munoz.
Against Fulham, they started together for the first time. However, it was an afternoon in which both had their moments but were unable to produce the spark needed to break down a resolute Fulham.
Barcola’s afternoon began with a clever pass into the box for Isak but the Sweden international’s angle was tight and he fired his shot across the face of the goal. There was a volley towards the end of the first half that was well blocked by Timothy Castagne.
Munoz came the closest for Liverpool all afternoon as his first-half header from a Dominik Szoboszlai corner was well saved by Bernd Leno.
Fulham remained disciplined and did not allow Liverpool to play in the direct style that Iraola wants from his team. That meant ball progression was slow and left little space to work with when the attackers eventually received the ball.
At different stages of the game, both players added the type of attributes that were missing from Liverpool’s attacking play last summer — but they were both left frustrated, alongside Isak and Florian Wirtz, as the moment of quality failed to arrive.
Four league games in, how are Iraola’s Liverpool shaping up?
After confidence-building victories over Ipswich Town and Atletico Madrid, this was a reminder that Liverpool remain a real work in progress.
One win and three draws from their opening four Premier League fixtures means Liverpool remain unbeaten, but there is plenty that Iraola will be determined to improve.
Fulham arrived at Anfield having lost all three of the league games, conceding plenty of goals and chances and with a new head coach under pressure. Yet they proved to be more than a match for the home side, who toiled away with very little joy.
Questions remain about Liverpool’s shape and structure, with Arbeloa’s men able to progress the ball through the thirds, and on the type of afternoon that needs one of your star attackers to produce something to make the difference, Wirtz and Isak were unable to do so.
The problems that plagued them last season will not be solved quickly, and this continues to look like a side that will be looking to secure a top-four place rather than return to title-contending status.
What next for Liverpool?
Tuesday, September 15: Tottenham (Home), Carabao Cup third round, 8pm BST, 3pm ET
