Liverpool defeated Fulham 2-0 at Anfield and convincingly ended their three-game losing streak across all competitions.
The Reds really needed this one. A win after three straight bad and deserving losses to Brighton and Hove Albion, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain. But also a great and dominant performance in front of their own fans.
Ironically, all three of the losses came on the road. And each of their last two wins were at home – both convincing (Fulham today and Galatasaray in the Champions League).
With the result, Liverpool guaranteed another matchweek in 5th place. This is now a guaranteed UCL spot, since the Premier League secured a top-two finish in Uefa’s coefficient league ranking.
Right-sided combinations
Arne Slot had clear plans A and B to face Fulham. The main idea was to take advantage of the strong attacking prowess in the right side, with Mo Salah and Jeremie Frimpong.
Their constant movements haunted Cottagers left-back Antonee Robinson. He had no support whatsoever in the first half, with Oscar Bobb clearly lost and hurting them defensively.
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Liverpool had no problem dismantling Marco Silva’s defensive structure. Bobb often failed to track Frimpong’s overlapping runs. Meanwhile, Salah stretched the pitch out wide and dragged Robinson with him, though there was more space than it should between them. It then forced centre-back Calvin bassey to cover down the touchline when Frimpong arrived.
Down the left, Slot had lots of men working in close proximity. For some reason, Silva refused to bring as many defenders as the Reds had forwards in that zone. That also created a domino effect that enabled Rio Ngumoha and Andy Robertson to cross the ball from the touchline. Though Harry Wilson’s defensive discipline diminished the impact of those combinations.
All of this separated Bassey and Joachim Andersen from each other quite often, creating gaps inside the box. A proper number nine would have had a field day with that, but Cody Gakpo’s lack of a goalscoring knack meant they couldn’t really capitalise on those situations.
Individual brilliance
Luckily for them, sheer individual brilliance was enough to win them the game. Ngumoha and Salah scored quite similar goals actually, both being great, curling efforts into the bottom opposite corner.
Though Liverpool did manage to break Fulham down and create good and dangerous situations to score, none of them actually ended in a goal.
But there was a common theme throughout the game. Marco Silva gave preference to maintaining the Cottagers’ 4-4-2 defensive shape rather than having Robinson chase Salah closely. However, it was the case both inside and outside the box.
The Egyptian King had way too much space and time to get his shot off for his goal. But also to send Frimpong through in his overlapping runs while Bobb was nowhere to be seen.
Whether it’s due to his own actions or the lack of support from his teammates, the United States international will certainly have nightmares with the Salah-Frimpong duo.
Perfect timing
There was also another common denominator in Liverpool’s goals. They both happened somewhat against the run of play.
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Make no mistake, the Reds were better and dominated 90% of the first half. But the 10% in which Fulham were better came immediately before Ngumoha’s and Salah’s goals.
Arne Slot’s decision to completely lean on the right side meant that Marco Silva also wanted to take advantage of Salah and Frimpong being a rather fragile duo defensively.
Like his Dutch counterpart, the Portuguese manager also emphasized one side during build-ups and attacks.
In many ways, Antonee Robinson was a key figure in the match. He suffered defensively, but was crucial to getting his team into the attacking half by sneaking behind Salah’s back.
Harry Wilson also joined the left-sided attacking sequences and they had a good 5-10 minutes before conceding.
But precisely when Fulham started to find their groove, Ngumoha made it 1-0 and Salah closed the deal just four minutes later. The Cottagers did manage to generate better chances in the second half and maybe even outplayed Liverpool after the break.
Still, overall, it was a good and deserving win from Liverpool – who needed it badly. It may also help give them a little bit of confidence before hosting PSG at Anfield next Tuesday, having to revert a two-goal deficit from the quarter finals first leg.