Liverpool's Press Lacks Bite in Draw Against Fulham
Andoni Iraola did not bother dressing it up. Liverpool’s manager knew exactly why Anfield was flat and the scoreline stubbornly stuck at 0-0 against a Fulham side that arrived with three defeats from three.
The press was wrong. And it cost them.
Liverpool’s press goes missing
For 45 minutes, Liverpool’s midfield looked a step behind. Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch started as the central pairing but too often arrived late, leaving gaps Fulham were only too happy to stride into. The home crowd felt it, and the frustration grew.
“Especially in the first half, we were arriving late for the presses, that is clear,” Iraola admitted afterwards. It was as blunt a diagnosis as you’ll hear from a Premier League manager. Liverpool weren’t compact, weren’t sharp, and certainly weren’t in control.
Fulham sensed it. Gonzalo Garcia forced Jeremy Jacquet into a goalline clearance in the first half, the visitors carving out the game’s clearest early opening. At the other end, Victor Munoz came closest for Liverpool, but even that chance felt more like an isolated moment than the product of sustained pressure.
The rhythm was off. The structure was loose. Anfield waited for the inevitable surge. It never really came.
Second-half control, but no cutting edge
After the break, Liverpool tightened up. The distances between the lines improved, the press finally had some bite, and Fulham were pushed deeper.
“I think we improved this part a lot in the second half,” Iraola said. “We have been better structured and we controlled better the game in the second half.”
Control, though, did not bring chaos in Fulham’s box. It brought patience, territory, and not enough incision. Liverpool protected their own goal, limiting Fulham to just one clear chance — a self-inflicted scare.
“The one we conceded was the one where we messed up the goal kick and that is the only clear chance we conceded,” Iraola pointed out. From there, Liverpool’s defending at least carried a certain steel. The clean sheet was never seriously under threat.
At the other end, their best moments came from dead balls. Set pieces clipped the crossbar, half-openings flickered and died, and one chance fell to Alex in the second half. It wasn’t the kind of opportunity you expect to settle a tight game at Anfield. It was the kind you regret when the whistle goes and the scoreboard still reads 0-0.
“We had probably our best chances coming from set plays, hitting the crossbar, and one chance from Alex in the second half,” Iraola said. “But not a clear enough one that can score the goal you need in these kind of games when you are not playing well.”
Midfield puzzle and Wataru Endo’s wait
Alexis Mac Allister replaced Gravenberch midway through the second half, another attempt to add control and craft to a midfield that never quite clicked. But while Iraola shuffled his options, two names stayed rooted to the bench: Wataru Endo and Trey Nyoni.
Endo has yet to play a single minute this season. That may change soon.
With Tottenham Hotspur visiting Anfield in the League Cup on Tuesday, Iraola is expected to rotate heavily, and Endo is edging closer to a role.
“Wata lost quite a lot of the pre-season. He is still not at his best but he is training very well,” the Liverpool boss explained. The issue is not attitude. It’s competition.
“The problem is in front of him in his position I have a lot of players. He is competing against a lot of players. We are giving minutes to Trey, Ryan, Alexis and Dom, players that I am selecting right now. But Wata is definitely a player that I like and for sure he will have his moments.”
Those moments may have to come quickly. A goalless draw at home to a previously pointless Fulham is the kind of result that sharpens focus and shortens patience. The press has to click. The midfield has to bite. And someone, from somewhere in that crowded engine room, has to seize control of Liverpool’s season.
