Fulham v Liverpool - A Quick Liverpool Perspective
Fulham v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective
Once again the team line up was disrupted by soft tissue injuries, with Ekitike missing out and Wirtz carrying a hamstring issue. They are the injuries that are the result of a lack of fitness, something which has been clear in this side all season. I have seen people make excuses for Liverpool's poor form due to such injuries, but clearly they are the fault of the coaches, which means they are no excuse and are something the coaching staff needs to sort out. This Liverpool team is simply not fit enough to cope with the demands of Premier League football, when they were previously the fittest in the league. It is a major contributing factor to the poor form and style of play, as the players simply do not have the stamina to play at speed for 90 minutes. Even playing as slowly as they have been, we see a number go down with cramp in the match. It is something which simply cannot be excused at this point in the season.
It showed up badly in this match as they tried to inject urgency into their play but could only keep it up for a short spell before it faded. The press was there in the first 10 minutes, only to fade away and vanish into lethargy. In the second half, they again came out with a bit of intensity and again it faded after a short period. The team look so much better when moving the ball quickly and playing at a higher tempo, it is really frustrating that the players are not able to keep it up. They quickly revert to the slow, ponderous rolling the ball around sideways and backwards. There is a lack of forward runners off the ball, yet when runs are made chances are usually created.
It is little wonder Kerkez and Wirtz have struggled so badly. Kerkez is one of the only ones making runs, but the ball rarely goes to him and Wirtz needs movement to pick out when he has the ball and is often left searching for some kind of run to play in and finding nothing. It is no better defensively, nobody picking up runners, everyone being dragged out of position and usually leaving van Dijk on his own in the middle trying to deal with 3 or 4 players. The late equaliser for Fulham was even worse than that, as everyone just stood and watched him close in and take a shot. At that point in the game, with the team leading by a goal, there should have been at least one player busting a gut to close him down. There is just a complete lack of heart and desire in this team, which is shocking as it was only last season that those were the things to drag LFC to the Premier League title.
It is so frustrating to watch, why sit back every time they take a lead? Every time there is any sign of a step forward in a match, Slot makes changes and takes it back to this diabolically poor style. It is astonishing that this team have managed to crawl into the top half, let alone the top four, the way they are playing. I also do not understand the decision to allow Wirtz's goal to stand. He was flagged off at the time, surely if the semi-automated system is too useless to be certain we should just go with the on-field decision? It is not like he even looked on to the naked eye, or even if it was questionable. Every single time I saw it, I thought he was offside. Visibly so.
Fulham
The Cottagers were good, but not great, they just broke quickly when the chance came, unlike Liverpool. They certainly did enough to deserve at least a draw and are understandably upset that a clearly offside goal was allowed to stand. However, they did not really do enough to go out and win the game, despite Liverpool being so woeful. They were happy to sit in and wait for chances to break, making it difficult for Liverpool and challenging them to find a way to break them down. They did end up at times with lots of bodies in the box, but no one actually making a challenge, which is criminal. One player should always be closing the ball down and not allowing it to get into the box. Overall though, they will probably feel fairly happy with their performance and the chances they created.
Liverpool
Alisson - looking to be getting back to his best, his kicking looked a lot better and more decisive, but he could do nothing with the goals.
Bradley - charges about mindlessly, sometimes it works, but most of the time it just ends up getting in the way of someone else.
Konate - is it possible he is getting worse? When the bar is set so low, is anyone capable of getting under it? It has gone from just a few brain farts a game and getting caught out of position a bit to being constantly out of position and barely making an effort. He always had a tendency to struggle against big strong forwards, for a big man he is weak as an American's cup of tea, but now he is getting battered by anyone who gets near him. I do not understand the point in sticking by him.
van Dijk - difficult to judge him in this game, he was basically defending on his own almost every time Fulham countered.
Kerkez - he is getting forward and making runs, but the ball never comes to him until he has started to come back. He is being so badly misused, I actually feel sorry for him.
Jones - was one of the few who looked to drive forward and make things happen but, as usual, far too often he takes the momentum out of the attack by taking a touch or two or three too many.
Gravenberch - gets caught up field far too much for the one defensive midfielder in the side.
Gakpo - he did score, but it was after spurning a few good chances. Looked sluggish most of the game.
Wirtz - you could see he was struggling with an injury, he looked slow and very off the pace.
Szoboszlai - worked hard but needs to be stronger in the challenge and make more runs in behind. He has the pace to be a real threat, but he tends to want to hang round the edge of the box, rather than making a run for a ball in behind.
Mac Allister - once again offered nothing and is little more than a very slightly mobile traffic cone. A very weak traffic cone which falls over a lot and then spends the next 20 minutes rearranging his hair.
Frimpong - replaced Wirtz in the 76th minute. Showed intent and got forward at pace, something that had been missing badly. Great cross for the second.
Chiesa - came on for Jones in the 85th minute. I just do not understand why this move was made so late. He is another, like Frimpong, that always looks to drive forward and works hard, just give him enough time to actually do something!
Gomez - took the place of Gakpo in the 90th+5 minute. Once again, despite it failing multiple times already this season, Slot decided to shut the game down after Liverpool took a one goal lead. It just does not work with a team this weak defensively.
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