Liverpool scraped a narrow win against Fulham in stark contrast to Sunday’s drama against Spurs.
Liverpool 1-0 Fulham
Premier League (34), Anfield
May 3, 2023
Goals: Salah pen 39′
No repeat of Spurs rollercoaster
While the Spurs game was an out-of-control mess after Liverpool took a 3-0 lead, this game against Fulham was something altogether more staid.
It might be a stretch to call it complete control for Jurgen Klopp’s side, as Fulham still had the odd dangerous moment, but there was none of the craziness of a few days ago.
It was 1-0. It could have easily been 0-0 given by far the best chance Liverpool created came from a penalty out of nothing, but they forced the issue enough out of possession to get that one goal.
Klopp would probably prefer it this way, although he would like a lot more composure from his forwards in the future.
Pressing
Whether it was the players coming into the lineup trying to impress, or the desire to attack in this, the second consecutive game of three at home in eight days, Liverpool’s pressing appeared more intense, or at least more effective in the opening stages.
The front four often consisting of Diaz, Jones, Nunez, and Salah were supported by Henderson and Fabinho as they looked to prevent Fulham building from the back while also trying to win the ball high up the pitch.
On one occasion Henderson won the ball back high up the pitch leading to a good chance for Nunez, who had the ball nicked off him at the last second.
Nunez himself won a penalty by closing down Issa Diop, getting a touch on the ball, and drawing the foul. It was something from nothing, producing the first goal of the game indirectly by closing a player down.
Defensive structure plus Alisson
The experiment using Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield has obviously worked, and is worth persisting with.
The issue with it has been how the rest of the team works to cover that space defensively.
As shown against Spurs, they don’t always do it well, but the defensive structure looked a lot more solid in this subsequent game.
Ibrahima Konate is effectively a right-back in possession, and he and Virgil van Dijk combined did a much better job of covering that space in the transition from attack to defence.
Van Dijk was wrongly blamed for a lot of the defensive shortcomings against Spurs as he was often left isolated, but in a better-organised unit against Fulham, he looked like the defender we’re more familiar with.
The ability of the left-back to cover across wasn’t really tested too much, and though there are still things to work on, this was an improvement for the defence individually, and as a team.
One of the better chances Fulham had in the second half, Alisson was there to bail them out. A reminder he’s been one of the best (arguably the best) keepers in the league this season.
Scrap attack
Though Liverpool got the win, much of their attacking play was lacking control and fluency in the final moments.
The attackers coming into the team were very direct players who can disrupt an opposition defence, but all too often they lost control of their own attacking actions.
The was even summed up in the moment Nunez won the penalty, as the reason he was charging down on the opposition to win the ball back was because he had just lost possession himself due to a poor touch.
Such touches were commonplace, along with poor choice or poor execution of pass in the final third that continued for the whole 90 mintues.
Home run
This is the second of three home games in eight days, with four of the Reds’ last six games coming at Anfield.
The away games come against relegation battlers Leicester, with the final game of the season against possibly by then already relegated Southampton.
It’s a fairly favourable run as Liverpool look to qualify for the Europa League after a disappointing season overall.
This is nevertheless a chance to return to some kind of feel-good factor to Anfield and make it a fortress once again.
Four points behind Man United in fourth, albeit having played two more games. A top four finish looks unlikely, but a good end to the season will put us all in a better mood in the summer and heading into next season.
Fan Comments