Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai during the Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool. Picture date: Saturday September 12, 2026.
Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai during the Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool. Picture date: Saturday September 12, 2026.
Liverpool’s 0-0 draw with Fulham prompted familiar criticism, some overreaction and questions over the pressures of playing at Anfield from the watching media.
Only a point could be taken from the goalless affair, in which Alexander Isak found himself isolated and Liverpool’s collective midfield couldn’t break down the opposition lines.
New boy Bradley Barcola found his opportunities limited and big-money playmaker Florian Wirtz has once again come under criticism, despite consistently finding himself in amongst Liverpool’s most promising passages of play.
This is how the media reacted to Liverpool’s lacklustre 0-0 draw.
Liverpool’s big names are under the spotlight again…
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, September 12, 2026: Liverpool's Florian Wirtz during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, September 12, 2026: Liverpool's Florian Wirtz during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Whether entirely fair or otherwise, further evidence of dropped points has only led to the likes of Isak and Wirtz coming in for criticism.
Liverpool’s disjointed structure and failure to be roused by the £100 million-plus signings was the focus for The Athletic‘s Adam Jones:
“Questions remain about Liverpool’s shape and structure, with Arbeloa’s men able to progress the ball through the thirds, and in the type of match that needs one of your star attackers to produce something to make the difference, Wirtz and Isak were unable to do so.”
Liverpool reporter David Lynch was however quick to note that the Reds still have work to do in order to click with the new demands and requirements of Andoni Iraola:
“A pretty poor game of football that showed Liverpool are still a work in progress under their new head coach.
“Just never looked like they could replicate the intensity of midweek and paid the price for it with two dropped points.”
Early teething problems prompted overreactions…
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, September 12, 2026: Liverpool players defend a corner during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, September 12, 2026: Liverpool players defend a corner during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Liverpool, and particularly the new manager, now know what it’s like to immediately bounce from high-tempo midweek European football straight back into Premier League action.
There were some jaded legs as a result. Regardless, that hasn’t stopped a measure of overreaction breaking out.
The Liverpool Echo‘s Ian Doyle clearly wasn’t too amused with what he saw at Anfield:
“That has to be up there with one of the worst games I’ve ever attended in 43-and-a-half years of watching football.
“It was probably even worse than that.”
Hayters TV’s Liverpool correspondent Nazira Yusuf was largely in agreement, feeling the Reds never really showed up on the day:
“That’s 90 minutes we won’t ever get back. Lack of real quality from Liverpool this afternoon.
“Fulham came to Anfield winless, stuck to their task brilliantly, and earned a thoroughly deserved point.”
Home pressure may start holding Liverpool back again…
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, September 12, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Andoni Iraola with Milos Kerkez after the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC at Anfield. The game ended 0-0. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, September 12, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Andoni Iraola with Milos Kerkez after the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC at Anfield. The game ended 0-0. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Against Fulham, Liverpool and new boss Iraola once again saw the power of Anfield’s distaste when the fans are unable to connect with what they’re seeing on the pitch, as the Telegraph‘s Dominic King pointed out:
“The locals had turned up expecting one of those afternoons when Liverpool cut loose and win comfortably, but the grumbling at half-time gave a clear indication of how fitfully the hosts had played and how different everything had looked to Wednesday evening.
“This was the 12th Premier League contest Anfield has staged in 2026 and Liverpool, remarkably, have won only four, the last being against Crystal Palace in April.
“The stadium that was once a rich source of points has suddenly become a problem.”
The sentiment was also shared by Aadam Patel of BBC Sport, who noted that the lesser-desired Anfield statistics are now already stacking up:
“A return of six points from their first four games is hardly cause for concern, but Iraola will surely be disappointed they have already dropped four points at Anfield, with draws against Nottingham Forest and Fulham.
“Including last season, that is now four home Premier League draws in a row for them as they failed to score in a home league game for the first time since Leeds visited in January.”
Can Liverpool handle the fixture schedule?
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, September 12, 2026: Liverpool's players form a pre-match huddle before the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, September 12, 2026: Liverpool's players form a pre-match huddle before the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
This was the first example of Iraola’s Liverpool putting in a shift midweek before engaging in Premier League action just some 65 hours later.
Sky Sports analyst Adam Bate feels Liverpool haven’t done much to prove the doubters wrong on this front:
“One of the themes of this Liverpool season was always likely to be how the Basque coach would be able to cope with an increased schedule, having impressed at Rayo Vallecano and Bournemouth without the added challenge of European commitments.
“This was the first test of that and Liverpool did not pass it. They were unable to play at the tempo that Iraola usually demands, starting slowly and struggling to raise the level.
“Fulham, with an injection of attacking substitutes of their own, looked as likely to win it.”
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, September 12, 2026: Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, September 12, 2026: Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
In full agreement, the Guardian‘s Andy Hunter pointed out that early loose play and sloppy mistakes really captured the lack of intensity that Liverpool brought into the match from the off:
“Whether it was the after-effects of the win, with a quick turnaround between fixtures, or the three changes Iraola made, hardly a significant amount, the deterioration in Liverpool’s performance was dramatic.
“They were sluggish and sloppy in possession – Florian Wirtz and Kostas Tsimikas put simple passes straight out of play in the first half – and Fulham bypassed their midfield repeatedly.
“Tsimikas’ return to the starting lineup lasted all of 45 underwhelming minutes.”
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Football – FA Premier League – Liverpool FC v Fulham FC
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, September 12, 2026: Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai before the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)