As Dan wrote in the immediate aftermath of yesterday’s Anfield epic, you come away shaking your head when the Whites fail to take all three points after being a man up for more than seventy minutes and having led twice at the league leaders. But on the balance of play and given how Marco Silva’s side had to juggle their resources, I think this was another indication of how fabulously Fulham are competing against the top Premier League sides at present.
Look at the way the Whites approached the game from the outset. Where previous managers have seen parking the bus as the only way to pick up points at places like Liverpool, Silva was bold and his ambition paid off with a wonderfully worked first goal. Yes, there will be understandable disappointment at Fulham’s failure to see out another winning position – and his side now top the table for points dropped from in front this season – but the way in which this time is confident enough to go toe-to-toe with elite opposition is a barometer of the Cottagers’ consistent improvement under the peerless Portuguese head coach. Silva’s stylish entertainers have scored in fifteen consecutive Premier League fixtures, which is some going.
Liverpool deserve credit for remaining adventurous even after going down to ten men and they might have come away with all three points in an end-to-end final ten minutes. Arne Slot seems to have picked up the baton from Jurgen Klopp and kept the Reds rampaging forward – which is pretty remarkable – and Silva is certainly right about how the Anfield crowd roars their side forward. They were a crucial element in restoring Liverpool’s belief after the early red card doled out to Antonee Robinson and you could see how the home side were emboldened from the start of the second half by the energy of the crowd.
But Fulham’s own adaptability should garner a little more praise. One thing that was striking was how well our second string centre halves resisted wave after wave of Liverpool attacks even though Sander Berge and Sasa Lukic were eventually overwhelmed in the middle of the pitch. Issa Diop headed away countless crosses in another excellent display deputising for Joachim Andersen, and judging by the brilliant crossfield ball he pinged out to Harry Wilson for the first goal, he appears to have aped the Danish defender’s penchant for delectable diagonals. But the revelation was Jorge Cuenca on his Premier League debut. The Spaniard was unflustered by the occasion or the opposition and delivered a composed performance. It was a shamed he was beaten by Diogo Jota’s dazzling feet for Liverpool’s late leveller because he was utterly brilliant. I don’t remember the last time Fulham had four fabulous centre backs in the Premier League; that certainly feels like progress.
There were plenty of selfless showings on an afternoon that required lots of hard graft. Wilson ran tirelessly on his stomping ground, no doubt keen to make an impression. Alex Iwobi showed some grift to keep going in the closing stages after blocking a cross with a part of his anatomy that certainly isn’t designed to take that sort of impact. Raul Jimenez led the line excellently before Rodrigo Muniz poached what might have been the winner. And we must be running out of superlatives for Antonee Robinson, who largely kept another world class winger quiet whilst popping up with two assists at the other end.
Silva and his coaching staff will methodically analyse the ins and outs of an incredible effort over the coming days – as is their way. There is plenty that the Whites could have done better, but the threat posed by Fulham’s lightning breaks remained until the end – despite Liverpool looking the likelier winners, as evidenced by Alisson’s save from Adama Traore in added time. You can’t even consider this Anfield epic in isolation any time. Fulham’s fine start to this season has now only been surpassed once in Premier League history, by Chris Coleman’s 2003/04 squad that surpassed all expectations.
We were all worried what would happen once November gave way to December and the toughest run of fixtures that Fulham have faced this year. They went to Tottenham and got a point that might easily have been more – before surviving after Tom Cairney’s rash challenge that led to a red card. Beating Brighton at home was no mean achievement, either. Holding Arsenal at home with a decidedly different gameplan still seems a very creditable point and walking away from the league leaders feeling a little downbeat at only taking a point back to London shows just how far Fulham have come.
Silva’s reaction to ridiculous post-match talking points in his broadcast interview is further proof of how well the head coach and his current employers are matched. I don’t have extensive knowledge of either American football or wrestling but I don’t the Khan family will ever make a more outstanding appointment in the sporting arena ever again. Silva is taking Fulham to new heights – and should he backed substantially in the transfer windows going forward – the sky is the limit. We should savour afternoons like yesterday, because they are a symbol of the fact that Fulham are far from a soft touch.