Before we get to the match itself, I’d like to wish former Red James Milner a happy 40th birthday. The human engine is still going strong in his 24th season in the top flight, and is only 5 matches away from setting the all time appearances record. Happy birthday Millie!
As for the match, it’s safe to say that the opening 60 odd minutes of the match were quite boring. Liverpool continued their tactical trend of players being static off the ball, with slow and ponderous ball movement that frequently ended up back at the feet of Alisson Becker after being at the top of the Fulham box to start, even after conceding in just the 17th minute. Fulham scored with their first attempt after former Red Harry Wilson made a perfectly timed run through the middle and finished off his fast break attempt. Liverpool had some chances, but didn’t really look convincing while they chased the game. A rare bit of movement and passing around the Fulham box saw Florian Wirtz net an equalizer in the 57th minute, and then the pace of play slowed down again for a while.
It wasn’t until late in the match that the game got a bit stretched and things got exciting. Liverpool thought they had scored a winner after Cody Gakpo bodied the ball into the net from close range in the 94th minute, but some slack defending allowed Harrison Reed time and space to slam a wunderstrike into the top corner from distance to level things in the 97th minute.
Below, we take a look at some winners and losers on the night, and attempt to disentangle narrative from fact.
Florian Wirtz
Wirtz was too intricate on the ball at times as he tried to create, well, something, but at least he was giving it a go while most of the other players were standing around. He never stopped trying to make things happen, however, and popped up with a run into the box that saw him tuck home to tie the match at 1-1. Wirtz now has two goals and an assist over the past four matches as the diminutive German is finally starting to see some end product to go with his improved play over the past month and a half.
Ibrahima Konaté
Ibou was quietly solid on the day with some timely interventions as he again covered massive amounts of ground in the back. Konaté was also solid with the ball and was the biggest ball progressor on the day for the Reds with both carries and passes. He had a few nice line-breaking passes when attackers actually made forward runs.
Jeremie Frimpong
The speedy winger proved to be a spark after coming on. He lost possession several times right off the bat, but he kept going at it and did all the hard work to set up the go ahead goal with a run and cross that was chested home by Cody Gakpo at the far post. Frimpong won’t be credited with an assist because the ball was deflected by a defender, but he deserves the credit.
Conor Bradley
There was both some good and some bad from the Northern Irishman. Bradley still turns the ball over too many times, and was dispossessed a team high four times. Despite that, he still managed to get back and do defensive duties, leading the squad with 3 tackles and 7 clearances. His aggressive running in the attack put him in a position to slip the ball forward for Florian Wirtz to tuck home for the opening Liverpool goal for his first assist of the season in the Premier League.
Harry Wilson and Harrison Reed
The former Liverpool Academy product has been an a great run of form for Fulham recently, and continued that against his boyhood club. Wilson tucked in the opening goal after a perfectly timed run through the middle. He now has 9 goal involvements since the start of November. Harrison Reed scored his first goal since 2023, and it was an absolute peach of a strike from distance that swerved into the top corner.
Cody Gakpo
Look, he scored the winning goal. That was obviously good. You can call me a hater, but outside of bundling the ball in at the back post he was pretty terrible. As the point striker, Gakpo was really poor with the timing of his runs. He was offside in three instances that lead to clear goal attempts. His blushes were spared on one of the opportunities when the flag went up after he made an absolute hash of his attempt. Poor on the ball, lackadaisical with his runs and press. Always seemed to make the wrong decision.
Dominik Szoboszlai
The Hungarian has undoubtedly been the standout player of the season, but Szobo had a bit of a stinker against Fulham. He was unusually poor on the ball, losing it 4 times. His passing was also not up to his usual standards as he finished with 1 completed cross from 11 attempted. He was isolated on a center back in space several times in the second half with balls played down the channel, but he just didn’t have the speed to make the most of the chances. He wasn’t terrible, but he just wasn’t the game changer that we are used to.
Dissecting the Narrative
Liverpool have wrapped up a stretch of matches this early winter that have seen them go on an unbeaten stretch for 7 straight Premier League matches, and 9 in all competitions. While that may sound good on paper, and has gone a decent way to salvaging the season after a dismal stretch this fall, the play on the pitch has not been convincing.
The fact is, Liverpool faced only two sides in the top half of the Premier League during that stretch, 8th place Sunderland and 10th place Brighton. Liverpool drew twice with Leeds, and eeked out wins over a reeling Spurs side and a really poor Wolves team before the draw with Fulham. To put it kindly, it has been a slog even with the unbeaten stretch.
Sure, there have been injuries galore to contend with, as we have seen multiple match day squads featuring two goalkeepers and several youth players on the bench. Despite that, there are still a raft of top tier players in the side that should be able to find ways to win more than three of seven against sides mired mid-table or below.
What Happens Next
Liverpool manage to stay 4th in the table after the weekend thanks to everyone else around them also being pretty poor. The Reds now face a trip to top side Arsenal in a match that is destined to put everyone to sleep so you won’t even see the set piece goal that Arsenal score.