Liverpool Spent Nearly £400M Up Front — Fulham Still Made Them Look Flat
GOATIFYLiverpool built the kind of front line that is supposed to turn ordinary afternoons into inevitabilities. Against Fulham, it did the opposite. A group assembled for close to £400 million never established control, never forced the game into Liverpool’s preferred rhythm and never made Bernd Leno feel as though a breakthrough was unavoidable.
The 0-0 scoreline at Anfield was not a smash-and-grab point for Fulham. It was a warning for Liverpool. Álvaro Arbeloa’s side were compact without becoming passive, aggressive when the midfield opened and confident enough to play through pressure instead of simply surviving it. Josh King, an academy product, looked more dangerous for long stretches than Liverpool’s collection of high-priced attackers.
For Andoni Iraola, the explanation was understandable but not especially comforting. Liverpool had come through a demanding Champions League win over Atlético Madrid only a few days earlier, and the short turnaround showed. The bigger problem was that tired legs exposed structural issues that will keep returning if Liverpool cannot solve them: a midfield that was too easy to bypass, a front four that rarely connected and an attack that depended on isolated moments rather than sustained pressure.
Liverpool’s expensive attack never found a second gear
The price tags naturally dominate the conversation because Liverpool did not build this attack to be patient. Florian Wirtz, Bradley Barcola, Victor Muñoz and Alexander Isak give Iraola speed, technical quality and multiple ways to attack the penalty area. Against Fulham, those qualities appeared in flashes but never combined into a coherent threat.
Barcola created an early opening for Isak, who swept a difficult chance wide. Muñoz came closer from a Dominik Szoboszlai corner, forcing Leno into an excellent reaction save. Beyond those moments, Liverpool’s first half was defined more by broken sequences than dangerous ones. Wirtz and Kostas Tsimikas misplaced simple passes, Fulham repeatedly found routes around Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch, and the home side never established the kind of territorial pressure that usually turns Anfield into a suffocating place for visitors.
The lack of chemistry was more revealing than the lack of goals. Isak was often occupied by Calvin Bassey rather than being supplied in dangerous spaces. Wirtz struggled to find pockets between Fulham’s midfield and defence. Barcola had to work hard simply to keep moves alive. Muñoz offered direct running, but Liverpool rarely moved the ball quickly enough to turn those runs into clean opportunities.
Iraola changed the shape of the attack after the break. Milos Kerkez replaced Tsimikas and gave Liverpool greater width. Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo arrived around the hour mark, while Isak finally produced an open-play shot on target shortly after halftime. The intensity improved. The danger did not improve enough.
That distinction matters. Fatigue can explain why Liverpool were a step slower than they had been against Atlético Madrid. It cannot be the entire explanation for why Fulham could repeatedly play through the first press or why Liverpool’s most expensive players looked disconnected from one another. Every elite club faces Champions League turnarounds. The teams that survive them are the teams whose structure still functions when the legs are not perfect.
Fulham’s point looked more like a warning than a rescue job
Fulham did not need Liverpool to hand them every opening. They created pressure of their own, particularly down the left, and they played with enough composure to punish Liverpool whenever the home midfield became stretched. The visitors probably should have turned at least one of those transitions into a goal.
The clearest chance came from Liverpool’s own mistake. Alisson tried to find Gravenberch under pressure, Sander Berge disrupted the move and King burst into the opening. When Alisson came out, the loose ball eventually reached Gonzalo García with time to finish. Jérémy Jacquet rescued Liverpool with a goal-line block. Moments later, Jacquet had to intervene again as García threatened to break through.
Oscar Bobb also found space but failed to control Alex Iwobi’s delivery cleanly. In the second half, King forced Alisson into another important save with a shot heading toward the top corner. Rodrigo Muniz and Kevin both had chances after coming on. Fulham were not hanging on and hoping the clock would save them. They were still looking for the goal that would turn a good away performance into a statement win.
At the other end, David Affengruber delivered an assured debut and Bassey made Isak’s afternoon uncomfortable. Fulham’s defensive line rarely looked panicked, even when Liverpool introduced fresher attackers. Isak did finally escape in stoppage time, but his flicked header from another Szoboszlai corner drifted wide. It felt less like a cruel miss and more like the final image of an attack that had never properly clicked.
Arbeloa will take more than a first league point from the afternoon. His team showed belief after three straight league defeats, defended transitions with discipline and had the confidence to attack spaces when Liverpool became loose. That is the kind of performance that can reset a season because it gives players evidence that the plan works against high-level opposition.
Liverpool’s concern is the opposite. This was their third draw in four league matches under Iraola and their seventh draw in 12 Premier League games at Anfield during 2026. One flat afternoon after a European game is not a crisis. A repeated inability to turn possession, talent and home advantage into clear chances is something more serious.
The season is still young enough for Liverpool to treat this as useful information rather than damage. Iraola has enough attacking talent to find better combinations, and the players who looked heavy here will not face a 60-to-70-hour turnaround every week. But the schedule will keep asking uncomfortable questions. Liverpool need their system to answer them before individual brilliance becomes the only route out.
Fulham, meanwhile, leave Anfield with something more valuable than the point itself: proof that they can make a supposedly superior team play on their terms. For a side trying to establish itself under a new coach, that may be the most important development of the weekend.
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