Álvaro Arbeloa was often the obstacle to Andoni Iraola’s international ambitions back in the days when both were vying for a right-back role with Spain. On his return to Anfield, and under the watchful eye of former manager Rafael Benítez, Arbeloa thwarted Iraola once again to claim his first Premier League point as Fulham head coach against an ineffective Liverpool.
Fulham belied their lowly position and run of three league defeats to take a merited point from a Liverpool team that was a pale imitation of the one that beat Atlético Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday. Iraola fielded a front four that cost almost £400m but the most impressive forward on display was the Fulham academy graduate Josh King. The draw was Liverpool’s third in four league games under their new head coach and the seventh in 12 Premier League matches at Anfield in 2026. Progress can be painfully slow at times.
“It is the first game we’ve had problems creating chances and making the difference offensively,” Iraola said. “It is easy for me to say the players were tired (after Atlético). There was a lack of freshness and, we cannot hide it, it was the worst turnaround in terms of 60-70 hours. But this is going to happen in the season and we have to adapt. Sometimes you need a set play or a moment of brilliance to win these kind of games but we were not as good offensively as other games.”
Liverpool were sluggish and sloppy – Florian Wirtz and Kostas Tsimikas put simple passes straight out of play in the first half, setting the tone for a disjointed performance – while Fulham bypassed the central midfield pairing of Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch repeatedly. The visitors’ confidence and composure on the ball, along with their defensive organisation, was hugely impressive considering the start to the season under the former Real Madrid interim coach and Liverpool defender. With more conviction in front of goal, Arbeloa’s side could have capitalised on Liverpool’s malaise.
Bradley Barcola created an early, difficult chance for Alexander Isak that the striker swept wide of the far post. Victor Muñoz went closer still with a glancing header from a Szoboszlai corner. Bernd Leno, the Fulham goalkeeper, reacted superbly to claw the ball away. But that was the sum total of Liverpool’s first-half enterprise.
Fulham were gifted a glorious opportunity when Alisson played a ridiculous pass to Gravenberch, who was under pressure from Sander Berge. Berge’s challenge fell to King, who was sent flying by the Liverpool goalkeeper but the referee, Thomas Bramall, played a good advantage as Gonzalo García received the loose ball. García had time to pick his spot but Jérémy Jacquet blocked his shot in front of the goalline.
The visitors prospered down their left and Oscar Bobb missed another good opening when, unmarked and 18 yards out, he miscontrolled Alex Iwobi’s pinpoint delivery. Jacquet came to Liverpool’s rescue once again seconds later when preventing García breaking through with an excellent challenge.
Liverpool were deserving of a few home truths during the break – chiefly, you would have been lambasted for this last season under Arne Slot – and performed with more intensity in the second half. But not with any more threat. The introductions of Cody Gakpo, Alexis Mac Allister and Milos Kerkez brought modest improvement but Fulham continued to contain the hosts comfortably. The new signing David Affengruber had a fine debut and Calvin Bassey was commanding against Isak.
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The visitors remained dangerous on the counterattack and Alisson pushed away a King effort that was heading for the top corner. King’s replacement, Rodrigo Muniz, let a decent chance run away from him inside the area and the substitute Kevin dragged a shot wide from 18 yards. Isak finally escaped Bassey’s attentions in stoppage time but his flicked header from a Szoboszlai corner sailed wide.
Arbeloa said: “When you are not winning games it’s not so easy for your players to believe in your ideas. But they believe in the way we have been working and I showed them the things that we were doing so well. We were more balanced and controlled the transitions well. I’m happy with the point but more with the performance of my players and the character, the personality and the ambition they showed in this stadium.”
