We are off the mark! Not many people would have expected Fulham to pick up a point at Anfield after the start we had, but Alvaro Arbeloa’s team put in a resiliant performance and actually, we were unlucky not to pick up all three points.
Here are my player ratings after the goalless draw on Merseyside.
Bernd Leno
Solid as a rock yesterday. Didn’t have as much to do as you might have expected to keep a clean sheet at Anfield, but he made a brilliant save to deny Victor Munoz’s header in the first half and then made a few saves you’d expect him to make in the second half. Extra half a point for refusing to clap for The Kop before the second half. Stupid tradition that.
7.5/10
Timothy Castagne (RB)
Timmy was tucked in a bit tighter today and it made a difference to our defensive stability. It left Oscar Bobb a bit isolated, but that was a worthwhile trade-off for some rigidness at the back. Timmy felt solid as per usual, although I wasn’t sure about his 5 minute cameo on the right-wing in the second half. I still think he deserves right-back slot, even though Kenny Tete is clearly eager to take his place.
6/10
David Affengruber
Oh wow, I reckon that was the greatest centre-back debut since Brede Hangeland away at Bolton all those years ago. Is that too strong? Maybe it was just the comparison with the shambles we’ve seen in the past few weeks, but David Affengruber looked the absolute bollocks. It felt like nothing phased him, not least world record signing Aleksandar Isak, who was barely given a sniff by the Austrian.
David also had some brilliant passes in him that helped us going forward too. It is criminal that we waited until the last day of the window to bring in a player that was obviously so key to Arbeloa’s system. He could be a game-changer.
8.5/10 (MOTM)
Calvin Bassey
Calvin must find it quite funny that he’s had three different centre-back partners and we’re only on game four. Despite all the defensive calamities in recent weeks Calvin’s stock remains high because ultimately you know what you’re going to get week after week. His strength helps us out in so many situations and he had some nice forays forward too. Unlucky not to score with his strong header from a corner in the second half.
7/10
Antonee Robinson
I liked what I saw from Antonee yesterday. No, he’s still not back to his best and he’s still learning the position Arbeloa wants him to play, but yesterday it felt like he got caught out far fewer times than in the previous three games. I think that it’s no surprise that he was better alongside Alex Iwobi, given their experience playing together. I also thought there were a couple of really nice interchanges with Josh King.
6.5/10
Sander Berge
Arbeloa made several mistakes against Palace and one of those for me was dropping Sander Berge. We control the ball so much better when he is in the team, but equally he looked much better with Shea Charles alongside him rather than Alex Iwobi. His reluctance to shoot is infuriating, but we all know that’s not what he’s there to do.
7/10
Shea Charles
I’m such a big fan of Shea Charles and what he brings to the midfield - he is a real smooth operator. Nothing he did yesterday was particularly fancy, but he was key in getting many of our attacks going and thwarting Liverpool’s midfield from advancing up the pitch.
7.5/10
Josh King
Josh has had a brilliant start to the season and he has raised his standards very high, but I actually think JK had the opportunities to win us the game yesterday and he didn’t take them. His jump over Allison, whilst noble, cost us an almost certain penalty in the first half and shortly afterwards I think he should do better with the shot that falls nicely to him which tamely goes into Allison’s arms.
Don’t get me wrong, Josh is such a talent and he is going to go so far, but we do need him to improve his end product. I know that sounds crazy given that he’s already scored twice this season, but both of those goals did have a slice of luck to them (goalkeeper mistake and a deflection).
6.5/10
Oscar Bobb
Another tricky outing for Bobb who was quite isolated on the right-hand side of the pitch. I still think he has massive potential and his one-on-one ability is fantastic, there was a brilliant moment in the first half where he skinned Kostas Tsimikas and put in a teasing cross, which should have resulted in more.
However, he still goes missing for large spells and the fact that Arbeloa replaced him with a right-back in the second half shows that the boss wasn’t too happy with his performance.
Obviously Sessegnon wasn’t even in the squad yesterday, but if Bobb’s lack of form continues, we surely need to see Sess get a chance to make Bobb’s spot his own.
5.5/10
Alex Iwobi
Much was made of Alex Iwobi’s performance against Crystal Palace, but I felt like he was much improved in the left-wing slot. The fact that Arbeloa doesn’t like the ‘wingers’ to play like traditional wingers suits Iwobi’s game to the ground. It means that Alex can still influence forward play and try those risky passes that can create chances, but it removes the jeopardy of him potentially giving away chances in dangerous areas.
7.5/10
Gonzalo Garcia
This was a difficult match for Gonzalo Garcia who didn’t really get into the game at all. I think he should have done much better with the chance that presented itself after Allison’s poor pass. I know Jacquet does well to block it on the line, but Gonzalo didn’t really connect with it as cleanly as he could have. I don’t think it’s anything to be concerned about, but Garcia clearly isn’t the finished article. He’s going to have moments of brilliance this season, but I also believe he’s going to have matches like that where he struggles to get into the game.
5/10
Subs and Manager
Kenny Tete
Great to see Tete on the pitch and he is a fantastic option to have off the bench. He actually did get beaten a couple of times one-on-one, which he doesn’t usually, I think he’s still a little rusty after injury and a lack of minutes.
5.5/10
Kevin
After last week’s cryptic social media post and reports from Dave Kidd that his future is in doubt, it was reassuring to see Kevin get 20 minutes to show us what he can do. The right hand side is not his preferred position, but I actually think the Brazilian showed some good moments. He was unlucky with his fizzing shot which went just wide and he did brilliantly to create a chance for Muniz, which I actually think was a bit of a missed opportunity from the striker.
6.5/10
Hugo Larsson, Emile Smith Rowe and Rodrigo Muniz all came on and did fine, but by that point it was just about preserving the point.
Alvaro Arbeloa
This time last week I was really, really worried. My concerns were two fold; firstly, Arbeloa seemed unwilling to adapt his style of play and secondly, he appeared to be losing the confidence of key members of the dressing room.
On the first point, we have to tip our hats to Alvaro that he relented and played a much more sensible line-up. Berge and Charles in the middle is a no brainer, Andersen had to be dropped and so did Palacios. The changes worked and Arbeloa has to be applauded for seeing sense.
The second point is harder to judge, but the fact that many of the rumoured dissenters played significant minutes hopefully indicates that the air might have been cleared somewhat.
Just like I felt like sacking AA after three games was stupidly hasty, I also don’t think a draw at Anfield should remove all the pressure. The nightmare scenario was losing all five of the opening games and it is a huge relief that we have avoided that scenario.
Alvaro said he was proud of his players, but he should be proud of himself too. Despite his illustrious career, the past week must have been tough. If he does succeed at Fulham, he’ll likely look back at yesterday’s match as a massive turning point.
8/10
I think Robinson’s score should be higher. I actually thought he was great yesterday and definitely back to his best.
Bit harsh on a few there?