Liverpool were unable to break the deadlock at Anfield, settling for a goalless draw while Fulham earned their inaugural point of the Premier League campaign. The hosts, who handed Bradley Barcola his first league start, looked a touch sluggish from the opening whistle, still feeling the after‑effects of their demanding clash with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. An early mistake from Alisson was nearly capitalised on by Gonçalo Garcia, but Jeremy Jacquet intervened to clear the danger. The Reds did create a promising opportunity when Victor Muñoz rose to meet a corner from Kostas Tsimikas, only to see his header smash against the cross‑bar midway through the first half.
Despite a poor run of form that saw them lose their opening three matches under Alvaro Arbeloa, Fulham managed to dominate possession for large spells and kept the pressure on Liverpool throughout the game. The second half offered Fulham the sharper chances. Josh King forced Alisson into a reflex save, tipping the ball wide of the post, while Rodrigo Muniz, after being linked up with Kevin by a well‑timed substitute pass, failed to finish cleanly. In stoppage time, Alexander Isak managed a glancing header from a Szoboszlai corner, but it drifted harmlessly over the bar.
The stalemate leaves Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola still searching for his first league victory at Anfield. In his first four Premier League outings with the club, he has recorded three draws and a single win, maintaining an unbeaten record but without the desired points. The few positives that emerged from the match were largely credited to former Liverpool player and Fulham boss Arbeloa, whose side showed resilience despite recent setbacks.
Key moments of the match: - 12' – Alisson error nearly leads to a goal, but Jacquet clears the danger. - 22' – Victor Muñoz heads Tsimikas' corner onto the cross‑bar. - 76' – Josh King fires from distance, Alisson tips the ball over the bar.
- 79' – Kevin delivers a cross, Muniz fails to control and miss the chance. - 90+1' – Alexander Isak's header from Szoboszlai's corner sails wide. After the final whistle, Iraola addressed the media, acknowledging the fatigue that hampered his side. "In the end, this is the easier one for me, for you, for everyone – our players were tired.
I think there is a lack of freshness, definitely. We cannot hide it," he said. He reflected on the demanding schedule, noting the "worst turnaround" of just over 60 hours between fixtures after a high‑intensity Champions League game.
"We have to adapt to these circumstances. It's this kind of game that you need to win, sometimes with a set piece, sometimes with a shot from the edge, sometimes from a moment of brilliance from the offensive players and we haven't had that today. We've been clearly not as good offensively as we've been in other days," the manager added.
Regarding midfield control, Iraola admitted the team arrived late to pressing in the first half. "I think today, especially in the first half, we were arriving late to the presses.
It's clear. I think we improved this part a lot in the second half. I think we've been better structured, I think we controlled better the game in the second half, even without scoring the goal," he explained.
When asked whether playing at home was a factor, he replied, "I didn't feel it three days ago against Atletico Madrid. Is it because we haven't won?
I don't know. I prefer to play at home, definitely I prefer to play at home. We cannot find the reasons outside, we have to find the reasons inside the pitch." Fulham head coach Alvaro Arbeloa also spoke after the match, highlighting the challenge of maintaining belief when results are not favourable.
"I know that when you are not winning games, it's not so easy that your players believe in your ideas. I know everything is easy when you win but they believe in the way that we have been working and I showed them the things that we were doing so well," he said.
Arbeloa praised his side's resilience but warned that mistakes are costly in this league. "I think there were so many things that we did well but we have been making mistakes and of course, in this league, if you make mistakes, they will punish you. That's the league, that's the level and we need to understand that, how important it is. If you have chances, try to take those chances but also to be a little bit more balanced and control the transition against a team when all teams here in England have quick players.
I think we did better and we realised how important it is to be balanced," he added. He reflected on the team's preparation, noting that the focus on transition work intensified after the Crystal Palace defeat. "From my first day, we trained so hard about the transition.
But I think everything changed after the Crystal Palace game because I think we have been working all this week, but in the first week also, how important it is to be balanced when you have the ball," Arbeloa explained. Sky Sports' Adam Bate provided his take from Anfield, recalling the celebrations that followed Iraola's first Champions League triumph against Atletico Madrid just three days earlier. He argued that the real test for the Basque manager was the congested schedule, a challenge he had not faced at Rayo Vallecano or Bournemouth.
"This was the first test of that and Liverpool did not pass it. They were unable to play at the tempo that Iraola usually demands, starting slowly and struggling to raise the level.
Fulham, with an injection of attacking substitutes of their own, looked as likely to win it," Bate wrote. Iraola's unbeaten run as Liverpool boss continues, a streak that dates back to his time with the Cherries in January.
However, home fixtures against Nottingham Forest and now Fulham have yielded only two points, underscoring the need for greater consistency and firepower if Liverpool hope to climb the table. The match concluded without goals, but the narrative surrounding both managers, the demanding fixture list, and the tactical adjustments made will be dissected in the weeks ahead as Liverpool seek to convert draws into victories and Fulham aim to build on their hard‑earned point.