It’s tempting to absolutely slam all the Liverpool players today- and one might, with considerable justification. It took the Reds an hour to start playing some football, by which point they were 1-0 down to what now can definitely be considered Liverpool’s bogey team in the form of Fulham.
And still, despite the sloppy and all round poor performance, it could also be argued that Liverpool’s display was compounded by a great deal of misfortune.
Arguably, neither of Fulham’s goals have stood. For the first, Jordan Henderson was fouled in the build-up as his foot was stood on, and Aleksandar Mitrovic essentially dived for the penalty.
Virgil van Dijk sticks his foot out, and one might say he “gives the referee a decision to make”. I don’t see it that way. The way I see it, he gives the referee an opportunity to make a mistake, which he inevitably does.
Fulham played a very aggressive and physical brand of football, barrelling into the Liverpool players and at one point two players slide tackled Thiago’s legs at the same time. There’s no issue with playing that style of football- in fact, it worked. It set the tone and it made life very difficult for the away side, granting them no time on the ball.
The referee chose to approach this leniently- he let a lot of hard tackles and physical challenges in which there was certainly contact, slide. That’s also okay. But once the referee decides to officiate the game in that way, he cannot go and give Fulham a penalty for a challenge with extremely little to no contact. How can he say there is not enough contact on Henderson for a foul, but there is enough on Mitrovic for the penalty? Surely, it’s one or the other- and that’s where the issue lies.
Nevertheless, the Cottagers put in a brave, impressive performance, that was full value for what must be considered a point gained. If either team deserved more than a point, it was the home side. They pressed relentlessly, they were confident and tricky on the ball, and while their defending was not all that convincing, it was determined, and they certainly were not as easy to break down as many may have thought.
Liverpool, on the other hand, looked sluggish and were very disappointing. The quality of their passing was the lowest I have seen for years. Under-hit, over-hit, or for the penalty, as much as fans may complain about the decision, completely to the wrong person. It was a dive, but van Dijk is left in a one-on-one situation that he should never be left in, due to Joel Matip’s dreadful pass, under no pressure. At times, Liverpool were made to look like they were the newly promoted side.
Henderson was nearly the match hero, but it has to be said his overall performance was probably a zero, and Roberto Firmino really was a flat out zero. He was so incredibly far off the mark, and so incredibly far away from the player fans are used to seeing. With hindsight, Jurgen Klopp probably would have started Darwin Nunez, who changed the game when he came on with a goal and an assist.
It seems inevitable that Firmino will decline with age, but even his pressing and off the ball movement were nowhere near the level both required and expected of him. However, it is unfair to single out Liverpool’s number nine- Thiago, Alexander-Arnold, and Matip were also very poor. Mo Salah was anonymous for an hour but linked up very well with Nunez for the remainder of the game.
It’s a disappointing start to the campaign for Liverpool, but it is not a disaster, and it does not warrant reactionary arguments that the Reds are unprepared for the season ahead. Manchester City lost their first game of the season last year (it was against Spurs, but the same Spurs that ended up sacking their manager a few weeks later) and they may well drop points against West Ham.
It’s two points dropped for Liverpool and a lot to reflect on. A long season lies ahead for Jurgen Klopp’s side, and this is far from the way they would have wanted to start their campaign.
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