A Goalless Draw That Confirmed What Liverpool Fans Already Feared
Three days after grinding out a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, Liverpool returned to Premier League action at Anfield hoping to carry that momentum into the new domestic era under Andoni Iraola. Instead, they were held to a goalless stalemate by a Fulham side that had lost three on the bounce coming in, and left Merseyside with the point that mattered more to them than it did to the hosts.
A Result That Flattered Nobody
The numbers on paper suggest a comfortable home performance. Liverpool had 56 per cent of the ball, 14 shots to Fulham’s 10, and a clearly superior expected goals reading. None of it disguises how underwhelming the eye test actually was. There was possession without penetration for long stretches, and a lack of urgency that shouldn’t be acceptable at Anfield regardless of the opponent’s recent form. Liverpool also conceded more corners than they won and picked up three more fouls than their visitors, a small detail but one that fits a wider pattern of a side scrapping for control rather than imposing it.
Alisson started, as did the back four of Ronald Araujo, Jeremy Jacquet, Virgil van Dijk and Kostas Tsimikas, with Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai in the middle behind Florian Wirtz, Victor Munoz, Bradley Barcola and Alexander Isak further forward. Iraola made five changes from the bench across the afternoon, bringing on Milos Kerkez, Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo, Jeremie Frimpong and Rio Ngumoha in search of a breakthrough that never arrived.
The Double Pivot Isn’t Working
The most pressing issue, and it’s becoming hard to ignore after a handful of matches, sits in central midfield. Gravenberch and Szoboszlai are both talented, forward thinking footballers, but neither is a natural fit for the defensive discipline and physical control a conventional two man pivot demands. Against Fulham, that mismatch was obvious. Wirtz was repeatedly forced to drop deep just to get involved in the game, which in turn left Isak isolated and starved of the service his movement deserved.
Wirtz worked as hard as anyone on the pitch, but a lot of that effort was necessary rather than by design, chasing the ball into deep areas rather than receiving it where he could actually hurt Fulham. That isn’t sustainable if Liverpool want their most creative player operating in the right areas of the pitch on a weekly basis, and it’s the kind of issue that tends to get exposed even harder against opponents with more attacking intent than Fulham showed here.
Tsimikas also had a difficult afternoon at left back and didn’t make it to half time, replaced by Kerkez at the interval. The second half improved once Mac Allister added control in midfield and Gakpo brought fresh invention from the bench, but Fulham’s back line held firm regardless, and clear chances remained in short supply throughout.
Jacquet Continues To Look The Real Deal
If there’s a genuine positive to take from another frustrating afternoon, it’s the continued emergence of Jeremy Jacquet. The young Frenchman produced an outstanding goal line clearance in the first half and looked composed and assured throughout, in what is now becoming a consistent trend rather than a one off. While plenty around him struggled to find any rhythm, Jacquet looked entirely at home at the heart of the Liverpool defence, and it’s becoming easier by the week to imagine him as a long term fixture there rather than simply a promising deputy.
Isak, for his part, had little to work with beyond a decent early effort and a header late on that never really threatened. Barcola showed occasional promise but is still adjusting to life alongside his new teammates, and Munoz struggled to link up consistently with those around him. The introductions of Frimpong and Ngumoha added pace late on, but by that point Liverpool were trying to solve a structural problem with fresh legs rather than a different plan, and it was never quite enough.
What Comes Next
This wasn’t a damaging result in isolation, but it was a warning sign. Liverpool lacked the intensity and midfield control needed to turn a dominant share of possession into three points, and the imbalance between Gravenberch and Szoboszlai in a double pivot is the clearest structural issue Iraola needs to address, with a specialist defensive midfielder looking increasingly like a priority whenever the January window arrives. From a supporter’s chair, it’s the kind of gap that’s easy to spot and hard to solve quickly, and patience will only stretch so far if performances like this one keep repeating.
There’s a quick chance to put things right, with Tottenham visiting Anfield in the EFL Cup on Tuesday. That fixture could be the perfect opportunity to hand Trey Nyoni a start in a more defensively minded role, giving the young midfielder a genuine chance to stake a claim for regular involvement under the new head coach. Iraola is still shaping this Liverpool side, and Saturday was a clear reminder that the job is far from finished.