Liverpool's Press Lacks Intensity Against Fulham

Andoni Iraola did not hide behind the scoreline.

After Liverpool’s flat 0-0 draw with Fulham at Anfield, the manager went straight to the heart of the problem: his midfield press simply wasn’t there when it mattered.

Liverpool’s press goes missing

Against a Fulham side arriving on Merseyside without a single point from their opening three Premier League games, Liverpool never found their usual intensity. The crowd knew it. So did Iraola.

“Especially in the first half, we were arriving late for the presses, that is clear,” he admitted. The gaps showed. Fulham slipped through midfield too easily, and Liverpool’s structure wobbled in front of a restless home support.

Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch started as the central pairing, but the balance never quite clicked. Liverpool struggled to pin Fulham in, struggled to win the ball high, and as a result struggled to create anything of real substance.

Victor Munoz produced Liverpool’s best moment of the first half, but it was Fulham who carried more threat. Gonzalo Garcia came closest, denied only by a crucial goalline clearance from Jeremy Jacquet after Liverpool had been carved open.

Tighter after the break, but still blunt

The pattern shifted slightly after half-time. Liverpool tightened up, the press sharpened, and the game fell more under their control.

“I think we improved this part a lot in the second half. We have been better structured and we controlled better the game in the second half,” Iraola said. “Even without scoring the goal, I was feeling more comfortable.”

It was hardly a siege, but Fulham’s clear sights of goal dried up. The only real scare came from Liverpool’s own doing, a messy goal-kick routine that gifted the visitors their one genuine chance after the interval.

“The one we conceded was the one where we messed up the goal kick and that is the only clear chance we conceded,” Iraola noted. Beyond that, he took some solace in the clean sheet. “From there we have defended quite well in terms of keeping a clean sheet.”

At the other end, Liverpool’s threat came in bursts rather than waves. Set pieces offered their best route, with one effort crashing off the crossbar. Alex — introduced as the Reds pushed for a late winner — had a half-chance in the second period, but it never quite opened up into the sort of opportunity you expect to decide these tight, scrappy afternoons.

“We had probably our best chances coming from set plays, hitting the crossbar, and one chance from Alex in the second half,” Iraola said, before adding the blunt verdict: “but not a clear enough one that can score the goal you need in these kind of games when you are not playing well.”

Midfield puzzle and Endo’s wait

The changes in midfield underlined Iraola’s search for control. Alexis Mac Allister replaced Gravenberch midway through the second half as Liverpool tried to inject more precision on the ball and a bit more bite without it.

Two other midfielders never got the call. Wataru Endo and Trey Nyoni stayed on the bench, watching a game that always felt one moment away from tilting either way but never actually did.

Endo’s absence from the pitch is becoming a theme. He has yet to feature this season, though that could change when Liverpool host Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup on Tuesday. Rotation is coming, and Iraola made it clear the Japan international is very much in his plans, even if he is still playing catch-up.

“Wata lost quite a lot of the pre-season. He is still not at his best but he is training very well,” the Liverpool boss explained. The problem for Endo is simple and brutal: competition.

“The problem is in front of him in his position I have a lot of players. He is competing against a lot of players. We are giving minutes to Trey, Ryan, Alexis and Dom, players that I am selecting right now. But Wata is definitely a player that I like and for sure he will have his moments.”

For now, those moments will have to wait. So will Liverpool’s first truly convincing performance of the campaign. The clean sheet offers a sliver of reassurance, but on a day when Fulham arrived wounded and pointless, Anfield expected far more than that.