My Favorite Things: Liverpool vs Fulham, 12/3/23
A list of my favorite things from Sunday’s match.
Liverpool’s match against Fulham brought out some of the parts in this Liverpool squad that really drive me up a wall: the feeling that they can tend to switch off at inopportune moments; the lack of real defensive mettle; the ability to frustrate in front of the goal even with the abundance of attacking talent on hand. A match in which we generally controlled the run of play and exerted our game plan moving forward but also managed to fall behind in is not fun. It’s also, unfortunately, happened a little too often.
Thankfully, this match was yet another where Liverpool secured points from a losing position. Meaning, we can focus on the positives. So here are my 5 favorite takeaways from the Fulham match.
5. Wataru Endo’s Goal
The Japanese international has had a bit of an uneven start to his Liverpool career. Understandable given how long it took Fabinho to take to Klopp’s system and expectations for the defensive midfielder, but it certainly must have required some internal fortitude to work on during the adjustment. So, it was more than a slight relief to see him not only come on and change the complexion of the game from the midfield, but to score that rocket was also a welcome sight.
4. Joe Gomez’s Continued Re-Birth
JoeGo’s re-emergence as Klopp’s preferred rightback deputy behind Trent Alexander-Arnold has been a bit surprising. Granted, Gomez had spent time at that position, mostly in youth set-ups. His turn in that position has been quite solid, offering a slightly more traditional look at the role, though sometimes still popping up in midfield, similarly to Trent. The period of the match where he’d been brought on at rightback and Trent moved into the midfield is actually one of the tactical pieces folks will be talking about for a while.
3. Only Bangers in the Building
While watching the attackers spurn chances - especially the ones blown by Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nuñez - was excruciating, watching the parade of sublimely hit balls by the guys in Red was truly a treat. Alexis Mac Allister’s belter from true distance is probably the winner of the bunch, but Trent’s freekick was my personal favorite. Speaking of...
2. Trent Taking Credit for the First Goal
Trent’s freekick was (in my opinion) harshly awarded as an own goal by Bernd Leno. In post match comments, Trent indicated that he felt it was his goal. He’d later go on to say that he felt his contribution - specifically citing two goals scored - was immense. I loved the tongue-in-cheek confidence from him. Especially given how stoic he can sometimes be, that moment was a joy to watch. It really does feel like he’s come into his own and is starting to stamp his own unique presence onto the club.
- Darwin’s Celebration of Alexis’ Goal
If you pay any attention to the lads’ socials you would know that Darwin and Alexis have struck up a very strong friendship. For me, it’s one of my favorite things generally about the club: seeing which brates emerge. But that love was in full display when Alexis hit his wonderstrike and Darwin was the first and most emphatic in celebrating the goal. The sheepish grin from Alexis, as Darwin was going bonkers, was truly the icing on the cake
What were you favorite moments from the match? Sound off in the comments!
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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