Daniel’s Debrief: Fulham 1-1 Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp is Liverpool’s greatest manager.

A statement you should be able to say with authority and certainty, but one that lacks the evidence it requires to be taken as gospel.

Not to take anything away from the legendary Bill Shankly or Bob Paisley, but they managed Liverpool in a different era for the club and the sport.

Klopp has taken an uncompetitive, sleeping giant in Liverpool and re-established them as a force on a global scale and has connected with fans in his eight years at the club in a way not seen since the days of Shankly and Paisley.

He has gone toe-to-toe with an all-time great side in Manchester City and proven the biggest headache of all for Pep Guardiola.

But what stops Klopp from being considered the best man to grace the Liverpool dugout is his trophy cabinet.

It currently stands at seven; four majors - the Champions League (2019), Premier League (2019/20), FA Cup (2022), League Cup (2022) and three other bits; the Super Cup (2019), Club World Cup (2019) and Community Shield (2022).

So it’s not a measly collection, by any means, but it’s also not quite as glamorous as the great man’s tenure warrants.

Football is about memories and about winning and now Klopp has got himself a chance to achieve both in late February.

And it’s a chance to continue to stack the silverware collection with a second League Cup - the first time he’d have won a trophy more than once at Liverpool.

And to be truly considered Liverpool’s best ever, he does need to keep adding and supplementing.

This was not an easy assignment over two legs. Fulham are good across 180 minutes but Liverpool, especially tonight, keep them at arms’ length effectively for so much of the game.

And the Reds have to demonstrate all of their qualities tonight. Mentality. Quality. Pressure. Togetherness. Intelligence.

Mentality.

They come into a fiery atmosphere full of Fulham fans desperate to turn the tie around but Liverpool set about killing that early on with a bright start.

There is no complacency and no sense that they think the job is done at 2-1 up. They come into it with the right attitude and work so hard in those early stages.

It was so noticeable how well Liverpool win the ball back in the first half. They swarmed Fulham.

Quality.

And with their first attack of the game, they lead. Two of the Reds’ best performers on the night combine - Jarell Quansah and Luis Diaz.

A gorgeous cross-field switch from right to left by Quansah starts the move off and it’s one of a few passes of the sort that he plays on the night. 

His confidence on the ball is staggering and arguably his greatest asset. With no Trent Alexander-Arnold, Quansah takes on the responsibility of the progressive passing from deep.

Diaz does so well to out-muscle Timothy Castagne to the ball and whilst there’s some fortune to the ball squirming in off Bernd Leno and the post, it’s worth saying that he has a really good game overall.

His work-rate on the night was phenomenal, he was so involved and so present. His dribbling seems to have returned too - completes all three he attempts. 

It’s the Reds’ only goal on the night and not extending the lead any further meant that there was some jeopardy thereafter but Caoimhin Kelleher has easily his best game of the season.

There is a moment where Andreas Pereira hits the post after failing to claim a cross but other than that, he’s faultless. 

There’s a good save from a dipping Harry Wilson strike, a crucial hand after Antonee Robinson’s cross and a comfortable take from Willian’s shot.

He will start the final and while he isn’t Alisson, if he repeats tonight’s performance then no-one will have any complaints.

Pressure.

Alexis Mac Allister is becoming more and more assured and convincing in the six role and is marrying his phenomenal technical ability with a tenacity and physicality that is seeing him win so many balls.

He actually makes more tackles than the tackling machine Joao Palhinha in the first half and it’s his relentless counter-press and break-up play that prevents Fulham from getting any rhythm.

Ryan Gravenberch produces a much-improved performance from the first leg and showcases some impressive work on the half-turn. His final ball could’ve been better but it’s his pressing that forces turnovers on a few occasions and keeps Fulham under the cosh.

This is a really good performance from Darwin Nunez and he is so key to the pressure. I’m not even necessarily talking about the pressing, I’m talking about Fulham having it in the back - and front - of their mind that they have constantly got this guy to look after.

It’s Nunez’s movement in the box that takes Issa Diop out of position and gives Diaz even more room to operate in. It’s Nunez who is the outlet on the counter attack time and time again.

He goes close twice - one bender which is saved well by Bernd Leno, and another which he does so well to twist and get the ball out of his feet before curling it wide.

Togetherness.

They work for each other. If someone gets beaten, there’s someone else there to deal with it. Virgil Van Dijk guides Quansah through every game and congratulates his every defensive action.

It’s a young right-hand side of defence with Quansah and Conor Bradley, whose performance perhaps isn’t as sparkling as Sunday’s, but is still pretty effective. 

Perhaps he could do better for the goal - Harry Wilson displays some clever trickery - but other than that he was solid again, making six recoveries and always making the right decision.

There’s Bobby Clark from the bench who runs around and presses at the end to help Liverpool put Fulham’s second wind to an end. Klopp’s faith in his young players is so admirable - Clark, Quansah and Bradley all playing their part in a League Cup semi-final, with academy products in Kelleher and Elliott too:

Joe Gomez, goodness gracious. The plaudits that this man deserves. Klopp labels him a “life-saver” after the game and now not only is he covering at left-back like a specialist, he’s inverting into midfield and being a creative body in the centre of the park.

Intelligence.

They don’t take any risks even at 1-0 up and they always look in control of the tie. Even when Diop equalises, there’s no panic from Liverpool. They still look composed despite the sudden momentum change.

And the manager brings on Ibrahima Konate for the closing stages, which proves to be a masterstroke. Fulham are gaining not just momentum after the goal, but belief as well and Konate coming on and Liverpool going to a safety-first back five ensures that Fulham are kept at arms’ length for the last ten minutes.

They barely had a look at Kelleher’s goal during that period.

And when Liverpool have possession, they look for the corner, they look to kill time.

Liverpool do exactly what they need to do to get to the final. And if they needed to score again, you get the feeling that they could’ve gone up a level and done so.

They’re so bright.

And over this 180 minutes, Fulham were only really in a good place for the first 45 at Anfield.

Liverpool came to the Cottage with a job to do and they did it. It wasn’t always pretty but it was effective and pragmatic.

There’s been so much transfer attention on Palhinha but maybe Liverpool could be looking at two younger players in the Fulham team - Tosin Adariboyo as a Joel Matip replacement and Antonee Robinson for when one of Andy Robertson or Kostas Tsimikas move on.

Both are homegrown, both are of a good age and both are superb here again.

A year ago, Liverpool were nowhere and many - myself included - wondered if Klopp’s days were numbered. He had a bad season last time around but is performing so, so much better this time around.

The Jurgen Klopp era is stacked with incredible memories but it doesn’t have the quantity of silverware it deserves.

The Reds are fancying themselves to start addressing that.

Daniel