Match Report
Fulham (1) 2-2 (0) Liverpool
Premier League Match Day 20 25/26 at Craven Cottage
Sunday 4th January 2026 KO: 15:00
Referee:
Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire)
Live on Sky Sports
|
A thunderous strike from Harrison Reed stretched Fulham's unbeaten run to five Premier League matches in a dramatic 2-2 draw against Liverpool.
Substitute Reed picked out the top corner with an outrageous strike from distance to rescue a point against the reigning Premier League champions.
Another Harry Wilson pearler, expertly provided by a deft Raúl Jiménez touch, got us off to a flying start.
There was still plenty of time for either side to find a winner when Florian Wirtz equalised just before the hour mark.
It looked as though the visitors were heading home with all three points as Cody Gakpo bundled home from a Jeremie Frimpong cross in stoppage-time, but Reed had other ideas with a last-gasp screamer that sparked bedlam at the Cottage.
Playing our fourth game in 13 days, Silva made changes to a starting XI that had been untouched for the previous three outings.
One of those switches was enforced, as Kenny Tete (hamstring) made way for Timothy Castagne, with Issa Diop and Tom Cairney replacing Sander Berge and Kevin.
Playing without a recognised striker, there was plenty of fluidity in Liverpool’s frontline, but as Gakpo showed smart movement to latch onto Curtis Jones’ defence-splitting pass, the Dutch forward couldn’t apply the finishing touch, scuffing his shot well wide of Bernd Leno’s far post.
Wilson’s goal against Crystal Palace last month, assisted by Jiménez, was one of the great Fulham goals of 2025 – and it was the same combination that came together to create another belter here.
Jiménez flicked Jorge Cuenca’s pass into Wilson’s stride, and the Welshman finished with a low, driven strike into the bottom corner. The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but after a check, Wilson was being kept onside by Virgil Van Dijk.
Silva’s side were firmly in control by the half hour mark, but Liverpool maintained a threat on the break. Castagne tracked the run of Dominik Szoboszlai well to make a vital block in his own box, before a Gakpo header bounced off the woodwork, although it would have been ruled out for offside had it crept inside the post.
Gakpo was in an offside position once again as he poked home Milos Kerkez’s cross just a couple of minutes into the second period.
| Match Stats |
Fulham |
Liverpool |
| Goals |
(1) 2 |
2 (0) |
|
| Scorers |
Wilson 17 |
Wirtz 57 |
|
Reed 90+7 |
Gakpo 90+4 |
| , |
| Goal attempts |
8 |
10 |
| On target |
2 |
2 |
| Shooting Accuracy |
25% |
20% |
| Possession |
42% |
58% |
| Passes |
451 |
634 |
| Passes Success |
84% |
88% |
| Crosses |
13 |
23 |
| Crosses Success |
8% |
4% |
| Corners |
3 |
8 |
| Tackles |
15 |
7 |
| Tackles Success |
53% |
71% |
| Saves |
0 |
0 |
| Fouls |
11 |
4 |
| Offsides |
2 |
4 |
| Yellows |
1 |
1 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source: SkySports |
Leno’s goal was living a charmed life as Alexis Mac Allister rose highest from a Szoboszlai corner and nodded an effort onto the frame of the goal.
But after striking the woodwork twice and having a goal disallowed, Liverpool did get their goal 12 minutes into the second-half. This time, a marginal offside call went against us as Florian Wirtz wrapped his left foot around a shot and finished past Leno.
The Germany international looked to be in an offside position after receiving the ball from Connor Bradley, but a lengthy VAR check showed that Issa Diop was playing Wirtz just on.
Despite spending the second-half on the backfoot, Wilson looked to switch the momentum back in our favour with a wicked long-ranger, which deflected off a Liverpool body and spun up into the Hammersmith End.
That really put Wilson in the mood. Alisson Becker came charging out of his goal to halt a charging Jiménez, but the ball fell to the Welshman, who lofted a shot over the out-of-position goalkeeper, only to see his delicate chip hit the crossbar.
It looked as though Liverpool had won it in the most heartbreaking of circumstances as Gakpo scored from point blank range in stoppage-time, meeting a deep Frimpong cross.
But Reed rescued a point deep into the seven minutes added, unleashing a rocket from 25 yards that possessed both power and movement, flying into the top corner beyond Alisson.
Fulham boss Marco Silva
"Losing it [was] going to be completely unfair. Our organisation was very good in the first half. Top level from everyone for our first goal. First half was good, not many chances from Liverpool. I would like to have more of us on the ball but we blocked almost everything. We deserved to be ahead at half-time.
"We conceded a weird equaliser, we should have reacted differently but after that they were better. It boosted their confidence for 15 minutes. But we reacted well. We put on more energy at the end and were pushing to win, then comes 2-1 and after that, what a moment from Reed. Incredible, what a strike. Total inspiration from him. It's a fair result."
On Reed's stunner: "Would I put him to score that goal? I wouldn't say he would score it! But it's something he is capable of doing."
Fulham: Leno, Diop, Andersen, Cuenca, Castagne, Lukic (Reed 92), Cairney (Berge 74), Robinson, Wilson (Traore 85), Smith Rowe (Kevin 74), Jimenez (Kusi-Asare 85)
Unused substitutes: Lecomte, Amissah, Ridgeon, McNally
Goals:
Harry Wilson 17 ( left footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Raúl Jiménez.Goal awarded following VAR Review.)
Harrison Reed 90+7 (right footed shot from outside the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Kevin.)
Yellow Card: Wilson (f,71),
Liverpool: Alisson Becker, Bradley, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Wirtz (Frimpong 76), Jones (Chiesa 85), Gakpo (Gomez 96)
Unused substitutes: Mamardashvili, Robertson, Woodman, Nyoni, Ramsay, Ngumoha
Goals:
Wirtz 57(left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Conor Bradley.Goal awarded following VAR Review.)
Gakpo 94 ( left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the bottom left corner.)
Yellow Card: Gakpo (ex cel,96),
Referee:
Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire)<
Attendance: 27,547
Fulham are next in action at 19.30 Wednesday 7th January when they meet up with Chelsea at Craven Cottage.