Neil Atkinson’s post-match review for The Anfield Wrap after Liverpool 0 Fulham 0 in the 2026-2027 Premier League at Anfield…
The frustration of all that is only ameliorated slightly by those around us drawing too. It’s a day of 3pm-1-point annoyances. Water bottles being thrown all over the league. Everyone home for a grumpy tea.
Liverpool give us much to be annoyed about. Missed passes, kicking it into touch. Shots insufficiently on target. A shape falling apart quickly and slowly. Much else. Nil nil not what we wanted lads. Not what they wanted either.
Jacquet looks a bit dejected in the end and looks a bit injured as well. He is definitely exhausted. None of this is obviously his fault. For 75 minutes the defence is solid. Liverpool’s problems are more midfield. We look underpowered and it’s clearly a consequence of the midweek travailles.
This though begs questions. It’s two homes. No travel time. If Liverpool as a collective cannot hack this now then what hope do they have come the depths of the winter. Two games a week is the reality but Liverpool don’t look a two games a week team.
The manager needs to think about this but the senior players, the leadership group, need to think about doing some actual leading. Not running about, not pointing and urging. Just taking a game.
I hate early match stats but the suggestion is we finish just above Fulham on the xG and possession, perhaps thanks to some effort from Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo towards the end of the game. But for most of the first and second halves, paltry chances come from poor service from Liverpool’s midfield. Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai are shaky anchors. It just doesn’t slice through Fulham’s strong formation and cannot take Liverpool from decent defensive play to attacking force.
They have different games, the pair. Gravenberch looks utterly devoid of confidence and Alisson Becker doesn’t help. Indeed, Gravenberch’s best contribution of the game is fighting for his life on the deck in the aftermath of the error. But this weighs on him as does almost everything else.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s game actually has both highs and lows. The lows are agonising. Choices not taken, running when he shouldn’t, pausing when he should progress. But there were again things that he can do and he does them well. The set-pieces are good, the crossing good. He lacks guile and brains and he breaks some spirit.
Both need coaching.
Up front, we have Victor Munoz’s speed, Isak’s desire, and Bradley Barcola’s skill. None of it seems to make a difference. They look like they are still working this team out. But above all else, it’s the imprecision of it all that drives this 0-0.
Fulham have got us worked out. They veer between industrially chopping Liverpool players down and just waiting for Liverpool players to give them access to the ball. They don’t always do well and for zero end product, but they realise they don’t need to worry overly.
On the left side is our old friend Alex Iwobi. Christ, he is good at space. Such a clever player For most of the match, he’s good and lively and Fulham want to overload the area around Ron Araujo. Araujo does alright but reminds us how hard it is when four players keep rotating into your space.
Today hurts because Wednesday was full of promise and so this hits hard. Loads of the energy and momentum drains out. We know it will take time with the manager, and a team which hasn’t lost this season and lost one in three last.
But the two home draws aren’t good enough and the showings aren’t good enough. Liverpool leaving us still with more questions than answers when they could have left us with pounding belief.
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