Positives and Negatives: Liverpool 2-2 Fulham

Jack Stroudley looks back on a hard fought point against league leaders Liverpool.

The dust settles on yet another mentally draining game for Fulham as we come away from league leaders Liverpool with a valiant point, which on another day could’ve been three. Like clockwork when it comes to our visits to Anfield we huffed and puffed and were undone by a late goal, this time at the hands of Diogo Jota. When those nine additional minutes came I sighed and waited for the inevitable but thankfully we stuck it out and got our due reward of at least a point – but what are the takeaways from our Merseyside trip?

Positives

The American Dream

Fittingly ‘Jedi’ had the force today as he was once again magnificent in the black & white. Following a solid performance against Bukayo Saka, Antonee Robinson was rewarded with ninety minutes of football against in-form Mohamed Salah but our American full-back was well up to the task. A booking in the first half could’ve made it a long day at the office for Jedi but his defensive work was once again exemplary. Four interceptions, five tackles, 100% of duels won in the air along with another seven on the floor meant that Salah spent large portions of the game as a bystander – yes he got an assist but by his usual standard he was off it today with zero shots on goal.

Then comes his attacking play which seems to be improving season upon season. Robinson was pivotal to pretty much every Fulham transition with only one unsuccessful cross, four key passes, only five misplaced passes and of course rounding it off with assists for both Andreas Pereira and Rodrigo Muniz. Robinson is the epitome of what you want a modern day full-back to be with tough tackling being complemented with tenacious ball carrying and killer deliveries in the final third. The 27-year-old now has all three attributes in his locker and it wouldn’t shock me to see top clubs starting to turn their attention towards him in upcoming windows.

Cool, Composed, Cuenca

A first Premier League start at Anfield felt like a trial by fire for Jorge Cuenca who rose through the metaphorical flames and showed why Marco Silva signed him in the summer. Doubling-up with Antonee Robinson time and time again to nullify Mohamed Salah in the first half ensured that Fulham went into the break with a deserved lead. Liverpool piled on pressure during the second period and Cuenca for the vast majority of the game put out fires and was assured at the back.

Twelve clearances, three accurate long passes and a 100% aerial duel success rate showcases the type of game Cuenca had today. Only 25-years-old, the Spanish defender’s ceiling is as high as he wants it to be and would’ve been desperate to impress on his first start, he did just that.

Stormy waters navigated

Following that dismal afternoon to forget against Wolves in November there was a collective groan from Fulham fans about our tricky upcoming run of games with Tottenham, Brighton, Arsenal and Liverpool on the horizon. Little did we know the valiant and brilliant performances that Marco Silva’s side would put in during all four of those matches resulting in an unbeaten December (so far). Six points from those four games is nothing to be sniffed at especially when it could’ve been even more!

I remember saying to a friend after Spurs that if we can keep ourselves in touching distance come Southampton at home then who knows what could happen – we’ve done just that. Marco Silva and co will be aware of the importance next week holds. There’s no point in grinding out these results against the top sides if you then drop points in those games you are expected to win, Southampton at home next week (along with those to follow) have to yield a good points return if this club is serious about the European aspirations they have been murmuring about as the season has progressed.

Negatives

Slow starters again

Exactly what I said last week against Arsenal, copy and paste it into this article. Another week goes by with Fulham conceding early in the second half again. This time the whistle had barely blown with Cody Gakpo levelling the game in the 46^th minute following a sumptuous Mohamed Salah delivery. All of that hard work from the first half had once again looked to be undone by our inability to come out of the traps flying and gift the opposition a way back into the game.

That’s now eight goals Fulham have conceded this season between minute 46 and 60 along with 15 points dropped from winning positions. Yes it’s Liverpool away so that needs to be taken into consideration, but our constant inability to start the second half strong is costing us dearly and could well be the reason we sit here in May going ‘what if’ rather than renewing passports and booking trips to Slovenia in the Conference League.