Liverpool were held to a goalless draw by Fulham at Anfield, leaving head coach Andoni Iraola still waiting for his first home league win since taking charge. Liverpool have managed just four league wins so far this season.
Fulham arrived at Anfield without a win or a point to their name in the league, yet Alvaro Arbeloa's side matched the hosts for long spells and frustrated Liverpool throughout. Many supporters were already leaving before the final whistle, with Rio Ngumoha's late effort the last meaningful chance of Liverpool's afternoon.
Liverpool flat days after Atletico win
The draw came days after Liverpool beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on the Wednesday, a result that made this flat performance harder to explain. Iraola made only three changes from that midweek win, which was not enough to excuse Florian Wirtz and the usually dependable Dominik Szoboszlai from repeatedly misplacing passes, including several that went straight out of play or to Fulham players.
Goalkeeper Alisson also played a risky pass to Ryan Gravenberch inside his own box while Gravenberch was surrounded by two Fulham players, and Liverpool needed Jeremy Jacquet to clear Gonzalo Garcia's goal-bound strike off the line. It said everything about Liverpool's afternoon that the biggest cheer of the day came when the stadium announcer read out the half-time scores and revealed Chelsea were losing to Hull City.
The rest of the game was met with groans and cries of frustration from the stands. "Absolute garbage," one spectator grumbled to anyone within earshot as he made his way home after the final whistle.
Fulham played through Liverpool at will for large parts of the game. Josh King was given the freedom of the box late on to fire towards goal from the edge of the area, and Arbeloa's side played with confidence but lacked a cutting edge. Liverpool created only pockets of half-chances, the closest coming when Victor Munoz saw his header clawed away by goalkeeper Bernd Leno and when Alexander Isak nodded another chance wide from a stoppage-time corner.
"What was lacking was quite clear," said Iraola. "It was the first game that we have had problems creating chances to score goals and make the difference. We couldn't create as many chances as we wanted. That is why we came away with just one point.
"There is definitely a lack of freshness, we cannot hide that. It was the worst turnaround in terms of hours after a very big game but this is going to happen and we have to adapt."
Barcola shows promise in first league start
Bradley Barcola, the club's £123million signing, made his first Premier League start and set up Liverpool's first real chance of the game, threading a pass through the Fulham defence for Isak, who fired wide from a tight angle. It was otherwise an underwhelming outing for the forward, who posted the quickest recorded speed of anyone in the Premier League this season just minutes after coming off the bench against Ipswich.
Barcola rarely showed that pace against Fulham. He later fluffed a chance to slip Isak in again in the second half and saw a volley at the back post deflected behind.
"We are building up his physical condition," said Iraola. "He didn't have a pre-season. He played well three days ago. We know he has more but it is about giving him minutes. He is a player that's going to give us a lot."
Even Dominik Szoboszlai could not repeat his free-kick heroics from last season's game against Arsenal, when he snatched a stoppage-time winner. This time his dipping effort in added time only flicked the top of the wall.
Arbeloa welcomes point amid pressure
Fulham continued to test Iraola's patience on the touchline, with the Liverpool boss visibly frustrated by how long the visitors were taking over their own set pieces. By full time, that was the least of his concerns, with plenty of work still needed to get his expensively assembled squad firing.
For Arbeloa, who is already under pressure amid speculation of unrest in the Fulham dressing room, the point offered welcome relief.
"When you are not winning games, it is not easy for your players to believe in your ideas," said Arbeloa. "I am happy with a point but more with the performance of my players, with their character, their personality and their ambition. I know that everything is about points, not about what you deserve. We were a little bit unlucky but if we keep playing like this we will win games. I am so proud of my players."
During their playing careers, Iraola and Arbeloa often competed for the right-back position in the Spain national team, with Arbeloa usually coming out on top. He did not quite repeat that here, though on reflection he may feel his side should have taken all three points.
