Liverpool welcomed Fulham at Anfield earlier this afternoon, hoping to put a stop to their wretched home form in the Premier League. The Reds were lacklustre in the first half and conceded a poor goal in the 45th minute when Mario Lemina scored with a great finish after a poor giveaway from Mohamed Salah. The Merseyside outfit went into the half-time break one goal down and with a mountain to climb in the second half.
Jurgen Klopp’s men were slightly better in the second 45 minutes but were toothless in the final third. The Cottagers defended valiantly and defeated Liverpool by a 1-0 scoreline to do their survival hopes a world of good.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player performed during the match against the Cottagers.
GK: Alisson Becker – 6/10
The Brazilian custodian made a couple of good saves and was tidy with his passing.
RB: Neco Williams – 6/10
He produced a nervy display in the first half and struggled to deal with Ademola Lookman’s pace. However, Williams produced a much-improved display in the second half before being substituted late in the game.
CB: Nathaniel Phillips – 7/10
Phillips was strong in the air and dealt with mostly everything that came his way. However, he will be disappointed after conceding a late goal in the first half.
CB: Rhys Williams – 6/10
Williams’ lack of pace was exposed by the Fulham attackers, but he did well to mop up the danger when called into action.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 7/10
The Scottish full-back was defensively solid and showed great desire to get forward and whip in some dangerous crosses into the Fulham penalty area.
CM: James Milner – 5/10
The veteran midfielder struggled to cope with the intensity of the game and gave away the ball cheaply on quite a few occasions. He was a liability throughout the game because of his lack of mobility.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 6/10
The Dutch midfield ace kept the ball moving without creating any real chances in the final third. He got replaced in the second half.
CM: Naby Keita – 6/10
Keita showed a few bright sparks but didn’t do nearly enough to get himself a goal.
CAM: Xherdan Shaqiri – 6/10
The Swiss international had a quiet game in the first 45 minutes but completely bossed the game in the second half.
ST: Mohamed Salah – 4/10
The Egyptian winger began the game brightly but missed a glorious chance early in the game. However, he gave away the ball just outside his penalty box, which gave Lemina the opportunity to have a strike and score with a wonderful finish. He was mostly anonymous in the second half.
ST: Diogo Jota – 6/10
The Portuguese striker tried to make runs in behind the Fulham backline and went close to scoring in the second half but was denied by Alphonse Areola’s brilliant save.
Substitutes:
LW: Sadio Mane – 5/10
He hit the crossbar with a superb header but was, otherwise, quite average. He lacked the cutting edge in the final third.
CM: Fabinho – 7/10
The Brazilian midfielder brought some control back in the game for Liverpool in the latter stages of the game, which begs the question of why Klopp didn’t introduce him a bit earlier off the bench.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 5/10
His crossing from the right flank was far from convincing.
