Digging Deeper Into Liverpool’s Rejuvenating Win Over Fulham

With a vibe-restoring win in the books, we take a closer look at what it all means for the Reds.

Jürgen Klopp made some bold decisions with his lineup against Fulham, and his choices largely paid off. Liverpool looked bright to start, and came close to scoring just a few minutes into the match before hitting a lull. A sensational Trent Alexander-Arnold free kick papered over what looked like another turgid display. Some clowns hoes defending allowed Fulham to level the score near the end of the first half before the Reds took the match by the scruff of the neck in the second half.

Below, we take a look at some winners and losers on the night, and attempt to disentangle narrative from fact.

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Winners

Trent Alexander-Arnold
The Scouser in the team looks to be playing himself back into form after a long injury layoff. He scored off of a fantastic free kick the he placed perfectly in the top corner. He also was pinging the ball around well, hitting some trademark crossfield passes to Andy Robertson and Cody Gakpo on the left.

Cody Gakpo
Don’t look now, but Gakpo has put together a couple of nice outings in a row. The Dutchman was again deployed on the left side of the attack and did well with his high pressing and ball progression both wide and as he came inside, completing a joint team high 3 dribbles. He still hesitated at times when on the ball when trying to decide to pass or shoot, but he still managed to put 3 of his 4 shots on target and provided 2 key passes, including the assist to Diogo Jota to ice the match.

The Gravy Train
Ryan Gravenberch continues to show plenty of glimpses as to why the Liverpool technical staff are so intrigued by him. He has a silky touch and turn under pressure, followed by a great burst upfield. He struggled to find the next steps with a poor touch or decision in the first half, but he stepped it up in the second half, including a fantastic turn and touch before slamming the ball off the inside of the post for the match winning goal. He also showed some great vision and footwork on the left side of the box to combine well and set up a great shooting opportunity for Diogo Jota.

Restoring the Vibes
It certainly wasn’t a perfect match, but a much rotated side looked much more lively and incisive over the course of the match, and Liverpool looked much more assured with their ball movement in the second half. The Reds notched two goals and really controlled the match with some good ball movement in the Fulham half on the way to a win. Hopefully this can be a springboard for the rest of the run in.

Losers

People Saying Liverpool Were In The Mud
It ain’t over folks, hold onto your butts!

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From The Manager

“From my point of view, that was the best performance we had so far against Fulham away.”

-Jürgen Klopp

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What Happens Next

No big deal, just a midweek Merseyside Derby up next. Liverpool will travel across Stanley Park to take on Everton on Wednesday as they are now solely focused on their Premier League title challenge. Everton are still not out of the woods with their relegation battle, so it will likely be a particularly tense affair.