Liverpool entertained Fulham at Anfield earlier this afternoon hoping to bounce back from their bitter 2-0 loss in the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Red Star Belgrade. The home team began the match on the front foot but were struggling to take their opportunities in front of goal. However, the Reds still managed to take the lead just before the half-time break through Mohamed Salah’s breakaway goal, much to the relief of the many anxious nerves inside Anfield.
Xherdan Shaqiri doubled the home team’s lead early in the second half when he met Andrew Robertson’s superb cross into the box with a delicate touch from close range. The Cottagers tried to respond but failed to trouble the Liverpool defence. The match ended 2-0 in favour of Jurgen Klopp’s men as the Merseysiders temporarily went top of the league standings.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player performed during the match against the Cottagers.
GK: Alisson Ramses Becker – 7/10
The Brazilian goalie managed to pull off a few solid saves to keep the scores level in the first half. He acted quickly after Aleksander Mitrovic’s offside goal to launch Liverpool’s counter which led to Salah breaking away and scoring the opening goal of the game.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7.5/10
He was a good outlet for the Reds down the right flank and linked up with Salah well in the opposition half. His through ball set up the Egyptian perfectly in the lead up to Liverpool’s opening goal of the contest.
CB: Joe Gomez – 6/10
The English defender was caught ball-watching quite a few times in the first half, but he was relatively untroubled in the second.
CB: Virgil van Dijk – 7.5/10
It was another solid display from the Dutch centre-back. His commanding presence in defence helped neutralise the aerial threat of Mitrovic while Van Dijk was also a target inside the Fulham penalty box during dead ball situations.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 9/10
The Scottish full-back was outstanding for the Merseyside club after initially making a slow start to the game. The Liverpool defender delivered some telling crosses from the left into the Fulham box, one of which found its way to Shaqiri who made no mistake from close range.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 7/10
He worked hard and retained possession well in midfield to establish the home team’s dominance at the centre of the park.
CM: Fabinho – 7/10
The Brazilian talent was not afraid to do the dirty work in midfield and made a number of interceptions during the game to earn a well-deserved clean sheet for his side.
CM: Xherdan Shaqiri – 8/10
The Swiss international was always looking to create and took his chance very well when the opportunity presented itself.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 7/10
The Brazilian quietly went about his business and looked sharp with some of his passes in the attacking third.
LM: Sadio Mané – 7/10
His pace was a constant headache for the Fulham defenders to cope with on the day. Mane was unlucky not to score as a brilliant Sergio Rico denied his efforts.
RM: Mohamed Salah – 8.5/10
It was arguably the Egyptian’s best performance of this campaign so far. Salah made some excellent runs behind the Cottagers defence and scored with a delicate finish when he was put through in goal by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defence-splitting pass.
Substitutes:
CM: Jordan Henderson – 6/10
The Reds captain came off the bench to provide some fresh legs in midfield.
CM: James Milner – N/A
He hardly had any time to make an impact in the game.
CM: Naby Keita – N/A
The midfielder came on in injury-time to run the clock down for Klopp’s side.
