Liverpool vs Fulham Liverpool’s perspective
The acting and atmosphere were extremely bland. Even under Klopp, weekend games following midweek Champions League games can sometimes be just as bad, albeit not quite as bad. The lineup update Ilaura attempted did not have the effect of boosting energy, but instead affected the team’s fluidity, and the connection simply did not happen. The lack of movement was appalling, with Isak playing musical statues without music and Bakola and Munoz providing little help with their runs in behind. This allows Fulham to compress space and no one moves them to create space for their teammates to pass. The few times there was movement, Liverpool created opportunities.
The set-up in midfield didn’t work, with Gravenberch and Szoboszlai showing no defensive awareness and allowing themselves to be dragged everywhere. They often just wander around and completely forget to work together as a pair. They both have excellent mobility and the ability to work as a partnership, but they lack the mentality to make it work, something that was evident in the performances of Nyoni and Mike Allister in midweek, with the pair really linking up. On the left, Tsimikas, Wirtz and Bakola lacked chemistry and were on completely different wavelengths, resulting in chaos on the left side and it was no surprise that Illaura tried to make changes at half-time.
The Reds’ performance did improve in the second half, but was still poor. This could have been a completely different outcome if Fulham weren’t so weak. In fact, if not for some poor finishing and a complete lack of forward movement, Liverpool really could have gone on to win the game. The biggest overall problem is poor performance and slow ball movement that have cropped up over the years. The game was always too slow, with no sudden injection of pace to catch anyone, just constant slow, slow, slow, giving Fulham plenty of time to make defensive adjustments as the ball rolled at a leisurely pace.
fulham
London’s form has been so poor under Arbeloa that it’s no surprise they finish bottom of the table, as they have shown few signs of posing a real threat to Liverpool despite having wide open spaces in midfield to run into. Unless Arbeloa improves quickly there, he’ll be picking up his P45 soon as they look like some relegation fighter right now. It’s just that Coventry’s team is so poor that they have avoided the spotlight due to their poor form. The departure of Lukic, who was a key figure in last season’s team, doesn’t help either.
liverpool
Alisson – Made a big mistake early on in the game and gave the ball away in the penalty area, which caused absolute panic. Otherwise, he’s been solid, looking for the runner when the opportunity presents itself, like he did early on with the ball to Wirtz.
Araujo – Despite playing as a right-back, he played well. He’s not as effective as a natural full-back when going forward, but he supports the attack well and is solid defensively.
Jacquet -Apart from one loose moment, when he passed the ball deep into Liverpool’s half, he was very good.
Van Dyke – His passing from behind is terrible, those big diagonals are unusually inaccurate for him. His defense was solid, although Fulham didn’t exactly press him.
Tsimikas – A poor first half, unable to connect, his only saving grace was early crosses, but was disappointing due to lack of attacking players. It was no surprise that he was substituted at half-time, although he was not the only candidate!
Soboszlai – His set-pieces are good, but the rest of his game is terrible and he displays a maddening tendency to be casual. There’s a lot there, but as a player he’s drifting, not showing full concentration and being sloppy with the ball, and those need to be addressed before he loses his bearings.
Wirtz – He is the only one working in the top four starting games. He’s constantly moving players around to create space for others without the ball, but when he gets the ball, everyone retreats, pulling defenders closer to him and stranding him. It’s frustrating to watch him play a great through ball but end up looking bad because the intended target can’t be bothered to run. This phenomenon is especially obvious in this game. He also used his movement to stretch the center forward, creating space for Bakla to shoot, but the shot was poor. He’s certainly not a problem in midfield, but those around him make him look bad. At one point, his only option was to turn and pass the ball back to Araujo as every player in front dropped and blocked any possibility of forward movement.
gravenberg -He’s terrible, his passing is terrible, and his defensive play isn’t great. His lack of positional discipline is astounding.
Munoz – He beat Robinson but didn’t know what to do with the ball. He just runs with his head down and ends up losing the ball, often, or occasionally, passing blindly to anyone. His movement was also poor but he did have one of his better chances when his header was saved by Leno. He needs to learn to keep his head up when he has the ball and can use his speed more to run behind the defense. He’s a helpful guy, but he tends to get caught looking at the ball when he drops deep.
Isaac – Probably the worst player on the field. Not just because of his weakness and ineffectiveness on the ball, but because of his complete lack of effort. He didn’t run to open up space for others to attack, nor did he run behind himself. The worst part was there were many times he could have had the ball but he didn’t make the effort. Sometimes he just stood and watched through balls, the worst example of which was the ball delivered by Mike Allister, he just stood and watched, but he also gave away a through ball that he could have easily kept but it was too much effort and he stopped running. He did have some good moments, but his shot was as weak as his effort.
bakla – Hard to get into the game. Others don’t understand yet. His finishing ability is poor.
Kolkoz – Came on as a substitute for Tsimikas at half-time. As much as I like the Greek Liverpudlian, Kerkoz was an immediate upgrade and his link up with Wirtz showed many positive signs.
McAllister – Replaced Gravenberch in the 60th minute. His arrival allowed the team to put pressure on Fulham for the first time in the game as he did not roam around, leaving Fulham with a huge outlet. He certainly looks like a player fighting for a new contract.
Gapo -Replaced Munoz in the 60th minute. The Dutchman is having a good season, offering improved movement and link-up play.
Frimpong -Replaced Araujo in the 72nd minute. Ngumoha really should have done better by pushing forward at every opportunity and managing to collect a lovely cross.
ngumoha – Played in place of Bakola. Apart from failing to save Frimpong’s cross, Ngumoha’s performance was poor again. What’s frustrating is not just that he’s not playing well, it’s the lack of effort. He offers little defensive help, is half-hearted (at best) when it comes to pressing, and never wants to work for his team without the ball. He doesn’t want to create space for others, he just wants to get the ball to his feet and run with it. He needs to know that this is a team game and sometimes you have to run knowing the ball is not going to come just to create an opening for a teammate to exploit. It’s understandable that he’ll make mistakes, but the team’s lack of effort is inexcusable. Especially when you’re 18, you’re supposed to do everything you can to impress, but he didn’t do that at all.
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