Liverpool faced off against Fulham at Craven Cottage earlier today as they hoped to kick off this Premier League campaign with a convincing win on the road. The Reds made a slow start to the game and conceded the opening goal in the 32nd minute when Aleksandar Mitrović scored with a powerful header. The Merseyside club went into the half-time break 1-0 down on the scoreline.
Darwin Nunez came off the bench and found the back of the net with an improvised finish in the 64th minute. However, Fulham were awarded a penalty just eight minutes later which Mitrovic successfully converted to put Liverpool in a world of trouble. Jurgen Klopp’s men showed some resilience and managed to equalise in the 80th minute via Mohamed Salah’s finish from close range. The contest ended with both sides grinding out a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player performed during the clash against the Cottagers.
GK: Alisson Becker – 5/10
The Brazilian keeper could have done better to prevent Mitrovic’s first goal. He won’t be pleased after conceding two goals today.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 5.5/10
The English full-back got overpowered by Mitrovic in the lead-up to Fulham’s first goal. However, he came back and put in a strong display in the second half.
CB: Joel Matip – 7/10
Matip was strong and made quite a few important clearances at the back. He was also not afraid to run with the ball but will be disappointed for failing to keep a clean sheet in both halves.
CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 5/10
The Dutch defensive ace struggled to deal with Mitrovic at times and conceded a soft yet cheap penalty in the second half.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 6/10
The Scottish full-back worked hard but struggled to find the cutting edge in the final third.
CM: Jordan Henderson – 7/10
The Liverpool captain produced a battling performance at the centre of the park and was unfortunate to hit the crossbar with his injury-time strike.
CM: Fabinho – 5.5/10
He struggled to put a stop to Fulham’s counterattacks in the first half. Fabinho was not his usual self today and got replaced before the hour mark.
CM: Thiago Alcantara – 6/10
Thiago retained possession quite well in the first half but picked up an injury and got replaced after the half-time break.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 8/10
Salah caused a few problems for the opposition defenders down the right flank and managed to create Nunez’s equaliser before going on to score himself in the second half.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 6/10
He never looked like he would score and produced a lackluster display in the Fulham half.
LW: Luis Diaz – 6.5/10
Diaz was a constant menace in the first half and was unlucky to hit the crossbar. He was mostly quiet in the second and got substituted in the 77th minute.
Substitutes:
ST: Darwin Nunez – 8/10
Nunez made an instant impact off the bench and scored a goal and picked up an assist on his Premier League debut.
CM: Harvey Elliott – 6.5/10
He linked up play well with Salah on the right wing but lacked quality in the final third.
CM: James Milner – 6/10
Milner added some energy to Klopp’s midfield.
LW: Fabio Carvalho – 6/10
He failed to hit the target with a difficult chance on the volley.
