Liverpool opened their new Premier League season with a really underwhelming performance at Craven Cottage against newly promoted Fulham.
Aleksandar Mitrovic deservedly gave Fulham the lead in the first half with Jurgen Klopp’s Reds well off the pace.
Darwin Nunez came off the bench in the second half and got his first Premier League goal for the equaliser however that was undone after Virgil Van Dijk clumsily gave away a penalty.
Mitrovic stepped up and converted emphatically past Alisson into the bottom right corner.
The Reds struck back again though with Mohamed Salah slotting the ball past Marek Rodak.
Jordan Henderson came so close to winning the game in the last minute with a wonderful dipping strike crashing onto the bar.
It was not to be though, and it was overall a really disappointing performance from the side who came so close to the quadruple last season.
Player ratings:
Alisson Becker: 4
Distribution was miles off what it should be, could tell he has only just came back from injury.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 4
Nowhere near his creative best and arguably at fault for the opening goal but was always going to be difficult defending Mitrovic at the back post. Created the chance for the second goal with a trademark pass.
Joel Matip: 2
Awful pass in the lead up to the penalty. Let Mitrovic bully him. One of his worst games for Liverpool.
Virgil Van Dijk: 3
Also let Mitrovic bully him. A very unnecessary challenge to give the penalty away, so unlike him. Passing was way off it.
Andy Robertson: 5
So close to assisting Luis Diaz in the first half and was main source of creativity down that left flank.
Fabinho: 3
Couldn’t handle the midfield battle, no surprise to see him taken off in the second half.
Jordan Henderson: 4
Looked better in the sitting role but playing further forward he looked poor. His link-up play was below average to say the least. Came so close to getting a fantastic winner in the last minute with a long distance effort hitting the bar.
Thiago: 3
Couldn’t get a grip on the game and struggled to get his foot on the ball. Had to go off injured early in the second half which is a huge concern for Liverpool.
Mohamed Salah: 5
Scored the second goal with a simple finish to make sure Liverpool scraped a point and also got the assist for Darwin Nunez. Wasn’t great up until that point.
Roberto Firmino: 2
Was barely involved in the game at all, poor link-up for the 50 minutes he was on the pitch. Taken off unsurprisingly for Darwin Nunez.
Luis Diaz: 5
Disallowed goal and hit the post in the first half meaning he was the only positive for The Reds in the first 45 minutes. Dwindled in the second half when he should have challenged Tete who had been booked early on.
Substitutes:
Harvey Elliott (Thiago): 4
Improved the midfield when he came on giving them some creativity. Was involved in the build-up for Nunez’s goal.
Darwin Nunez (Roberto Firmino): 8
Caused absolute havoc for the entirety of the second half. Created opportunities out of nothing and got the first equaliser. Inadvertently got Salah’s assist for the second equaliser as well. Should start next week.
James Milner (Fabinho): 7
Was brilliant when he came on and was integral in the build-up to Liverpool’s first goal of the new season. Not great though that he is needed to bring on to wake his other teammates up.
Fabio Carvalho (Luis Diaz): 3 Came on with 12 minutes to go and had one shot fly over the bar, should have done better.
