Match Report
Liverpool (0) 2-2 (1) Fulham
Liverpool vrs Fulham
Premier League Match Day 16 24_25 at Anfield
Saturday 14th December 2024, KO: 15:00
Referee:
Tony Harrington (Cleveland)
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Fulham gained a point at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Goals from Andreas Pereira and Rodrigo Muniz saw Marco Silva's side go ahead twice against the league leaders, with Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota equalising for the hosts.
Silva made three changes to the side that started the draw at home to Arsenal, with Jorge Cuenca coming in for the suspended Calvin Bassey, as well as Andreas and Harry Wilson starting in place of Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traore.
Just a minute into the game, there were Liverpool shouts for an Issa Diop red card after the centre-back caught Andy Robertson high. After a lengthy break in play and the hosts' left back receiving treatment, Diop was shown a yellow card and Fulham awarded a free kick for an offside in the build up of the attack.
Fulham were looking threatening on the transition and were rewarded just 11 minutes into the game. After smart combination play on the left, Antonee Robinson found Andreas with a deep cross and the Brazilian had an acrobatic effort at the back post ricochet off Robertson, beating Alisson. His celebration was met by jubilation from the sold out away end, silencing the early Anfield atmosphere.
Wilson raced in behind minutes later and was brought down by Robertson who, after a lengthy VAR check, was shown a red card for denial of a goalscoring opportunity. 17 minutes in, Fulham were set up well for a positive afternoon at Anfield, a goal ahead with a man advantage.
The game was frantic and as Liverpool resorted to deep crosses from the ever-deadly Trent Alexander Arnold, Fulham found more space on the transition and were close to doubling their lead on the half hour mark; Iwobi found Robinson, who had a low cross flicked onto Wilson by Andreas, but the Welshman's effort was blocked at the last ditch by Joe Gomez.
Robinson found Wilson in added time with another dangerous attack down the left, but the effort was over Alisson Becker's goal.
Sander Berge and Sasa Lukic were having strong performances in the centre of midfield, matching their counterparts for quality and helping Fulham regain control as Liverpool probed for an equaliser as the first half came to a close.
Liverpool started the second half strong and did find their equaliser minutes after the break. Mohamed Salah found Gakpo at the back post with a deep cross, and the Dutchman beat Bernd Leno with a header. VAR checked for a foul on Kenny Tete, but the onfield decision to allow the goal was upheld.
Shortly after, Tete was forced off due to injury. The right-back had been clattered into by Gomez when attempting to block another Gakpo effort.
| Match Stats |
Liverpool |
Fulham |
| Goals |
(0) 2 |
2 (1) |
|
| Scorers |
Gakpo 47 |
Pereira 11 |
| Scorers |
Jota 86 |
Muniz 76 |
| , |
| Goal attempts |
16 |
12 |
| On target |
4 |
3 |
| Shooting Accuracy |
25% |
25% |
| Possession |
61% |
39% |
| Passes |
510 |
337 |
| Passes Success |
88% |
82% |
| Corners |
5 |
4 |
| Tackles |
15 |
15 |
| Tackles Success |
60% |
53% |
| Saves |
1 |
2 |
| Fouls |
10 |
7 |
| Offsides |
2 |
2 |
| Yellows |
3 |
4 |
| Reds |
1 |
0 |
| source: SkySports |
After riding out a storm of Liverpool pressure, Silva's men were starting to enjoy a spell camped in the opposition half. Robinson was found in space again down the left and had a low cross put just wide by Wilson. The left-back broke in behind Alexander Arnold again seconds later and tried lobbing Alisson, but his effort was just over.
Two thirds of the way into the game, Marco made a double change, with Rodrigo Muniz and Emile Smith Rowe replacing Raul Jimenez and Andreas.
The manager has earned plaudits for his changes making big impacts on matches so far this season, and this time around was no different; Robinson once again found space in behind Alexander Arnold and drilled a ball across the face of goal for Rodrigo to apply the finish. With 13 minutes left, Fulham had regained their lead.
However, with the tempo of the match showing no sign of slowing, Liverpool levelled with five minutes left of normal time; Jota turned well to find space between Diop and Cuenca, sending Leno the wrong way with his finish.
The officials signalled there would be another nine minutes to play and Liverpool turned up the heat as they searched for a winner. Robinson was to thank for Fulham with a huge block on a Jota shot, almost certainly denying a goal.
Robinson found himself in the thick of the action again, beating Salah to a loose ball and starting a Fulham counter. Adama had the eventual Fulham effort, but it was saved well by Alisson.
The referee blew for full time and Fulham had gained a very much deserved point at the league leaders, and perhaps could have come away with all three with a little more luck.
Liverpool: A. Becker, Alexander-Arnold (D. Jota 79), Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson, Jones (Quansah 70), Gravenberch, Szoboszlai (Elliott 79), M. Salah, Diaz, Gakpo (Nunez 70)
Unused substitutes: Endo, Chiesa, Kelleher, Morton, Nyoni
Goals:
Gakpo 48 (Salah is given acres of space, as he crosses with precision and there is Gakpo diving in at the far post to head the levell)
Jota 86 (Nunez plays in Jota on the edge of the area and he rifles into the bottom left corner. Game back on!)
Yellow Card: Diaz (dp,8), Jones (60,f), Nunez (88,f)
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Red Card: Robertson (denying a goalscoring opportunity,17),
Fulham: Leno, Tete (Castagne 55), Diop, Cuenca, Robinson, Berge, Lukic, Iwobi, A. Pereira (Smith Rowe 69), Wilson (Traore 87), Jimenez (R. Muniz 68)
Unused substitutes: C. Vinicius, Benda, King, Sessegnon, Godo
Goals:
Pereira 11 (What a goal! The ball is switched to Iwobi on the left, he plays it to Robinson. The cross is overhit but Pereira connects with an acrobatic volley that ricochets off Robertson and goes into the back of the net!)
Muniz 75 (Another brilliant Fulham goal!
Robinson feeds it to Iwobi before continuing the run, he holds off Quansah as he gets towards the touchline and crosses for Muniz who produces a sublime touch to flick the ball into the net. The replay suggests it may have been going wide and in fact the last touch came off Gomez.)
Yellow Card: Diop (04,f), Pereira (10,f - 5th yellow of the season now suspended), Robinson (28,f), Berge (83,f),
Referee:
Tony Harrington (Cleveland)
Attendance: 0
Fulham are next in action on Sunday 22nd December when they welcome Southampton to The Cottage with a 14:00 kick off.