Diogo Jota marked his return with an important equaliser as 10-man Liverpool were left to accept a hard-fought draw in a chaotic meeting with Fulham at Anfield.
Liverpool 2-2 Fulham
Premier League (15) | Anfield
December 14, 2024
Goals
Pereira 11′
Gakpo 47′ (assist: Salah)
Muniz 76′
Jota 86′ (assist: Nunez)
Red card: Robertson 17′
Anfield was the backdrop for the penultimate time in 2024, and it proved a controversial and frantic occasion – and to start, it was certainly not in the Reds’ favour.
The visitors had two red card-worthy tackles only shown yellows, with Andy Robertson on the receiving end of a nasty studs-up challenge, before Ryan Gravenberch had studs raked down his ankle.
Insult to injury then arrived as Andreas Pereira made it 1-0 after a cross from Fulham‘s highly-rated Antonee Robinson was converted – a Robertson deflection left Alisson no chance.
That would not be all the drama in the opening exchanges, as Robertson then upped the ante after taking out ex-Red Harry Wilson to be shown a straight red card.
All this before the clock even ticked beyond 20 minutes.
In reaction to going down to 10 men, Slot initially opted for a 3-4-2 setup and then 4-4-1, with Gravenberch moving into the defensive line and impressing as the Reds looked to wrestle back some control.
Half time: Liverpool 0-1 Fulham
The odds were not quite stacked in the Reds’ favour but Slot, again, got a reaction from his side after the interval with Gakpo finding the net less than two minutes after the restart.
Mohamed Salah delivered yet another sumptuous cross for the Dutchman at the back post, who committed to diving for the header to see Anfield erupt.
Fulham started to come back at Liverpool and in the heat of the moment, Slot also saw a yellow card shown in his direction to trigger a one-match touchline ban, which will be served at Southampton.
The Reds’ afternoon then went from bad to worse. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jarell Quansah lost their direct opponent and Rodrigo Muniz made them pay with a close-range flick to make it 2-1.
Amid all the chaos, Jota‘s return to the squad was all but forgotten but he was injected with 10 minutes, and we ought to have known he’d mark it by scoring a vital goal.
The move started with Joe Gomez, with Darwin Nunez then offering the perfect ball for the No. 20 to show what we have been missing with a lethal finish.
Liverpool could not find a winner in nine minutes of stoppage time, but Arsenal‘s goalless draw to Everton keeps the gap to the Gunners at six points, with a game in hand.
TIA Man of the Match: Ryan Gravenberch
Referee: Tony Harrington
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold (Jota 79′), Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai (Elliott 79′), Jones (Quansah 70′); Salah, Gakpo (Nunez 70′), Diaz
Subs not used: Kelleher, Endo, Morton, Nyoni, Chiesa
Fulham: Leno; Tete (Castagne 54′), Diop, Cuenca, Robinson; Berge, Lukic; Wilson; Iwobi, Pereira (Smith Rowe 69′); Jimenez (Muniz 68′)
Subs not used: Benda, Sessegnon, King, Traore, Vinicius, Godo
Next Match: Southampton (A) – League Cup quarter-final – Wednesday, December 18, 8pm (GMT)
