Jurgen Klopp hails 'exceptional' Trent Alexander-Arnold as Liverpool move joint top
Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold scores their side's first goal of the game during the Premier League match at Craven Cottage. Photo credit: Zac Goodwin/PA Wire.
LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp praised the impact of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who returned to reignite his side’s Premier League title ambitions in a clinical victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
It was Alexander-Arnold’s sumptuous first half free-kick which settled Liverpool nerves and helped to send Klopp’s men back up to second place, level on points with Arsenal.
“It was a great goal from Trent and we needed it. Nobody is like Trent in the way he plays the game so and for a long time today Trent was exceptional, so it’s super-helpful to have him back.
“It was a complete performance in the second half. For us, Fulham is always a tough place to come. I can’t really explain it but from my point of view that was the best performance we have had at Fulham away.”
After Fulham equalised through Timothy Castagne, second-half goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Jota helped Liverpool recover their poise.
A victory that would otherwise be considered as routine was instead imbued with extra significance coming as it did at the end of a week that witnessed a surprise home defeat by Crystal Palace and a deflating exit from the Europa League.
Klopp will be reassured that his remaining month at Anfield should not now fade away in a blur of meaningless fixtures.
His team selection, leaving Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister and Darwin Nunez on the bench, was justified by the industrious nature of the performance their understudies served up.
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Apart from a fourth-minute Luis Diaz header which glanced just wide of the far post, the early part of the game lacked much of the intensity that often characterises matches at Craven Cottage.
That was in part because of Fulham’s withdrawn formation, unwilling to expose their central defenders to Liverpool’s ability to find their midfield runners.
What was noticeable was how much Harvey Elliott, Fulham’s youngest-ever first-team player when he made his debut as a 15-year-old in September 2018, was booed mercilessly for his decision to leave Craven Cottage for Anfield the following summer.
When Joao Palhinha was decreed to have bundled over Cody Gakpo in the 27th minute, it did at least give Elliott the opportunity to serve up a sweet response to the jeers.
Instead, he did little more than dribble his left-foot free-kick into the bottom of the Fulham wall and heap even greater derision upon himself.
When Liverpool were awarded a second free-kick four minutes later, to the left of centre this time, Alexander-Arnold demonstrated the apparent ease with which a dead ball can be lifted over a wall at pace.
Fulham keeper Bernd Leno might have known what was coming, but he was still left flailing at thin air as the ball flew past him to put Liverpool ahead.
Fulham, firmly entrenched in the Premier League hinterland and comfortably shielded from both the relegation battle and the squabble for European places, had offered little going forward at that point.
With their containment policy rendered defunct by Liverpool’s goal, scoring suddenly became a necessity rather than a luxury.
Two chances in three minutes fell to Rodrigo Muniz, the first swivelling onto Antonee Robinson’s cross but ballooning his shot high into the stand before he then struck a low shot into the body of advancing Liverpool keeper Alisson.
As if realising they could cause their opponents problems, Fulham became more insistent as half-time approached. They drew level 30 seconds after Andreas Pereira had curled a free-kick inches over the Liverpool bar.
When the ball was eventually crossed back in, Muniz first missed the ball with his head, then found Jarell Quansah blocking his second attempt. The ball ricocheted back into the path of Timothy Castagne who struck his shot low and true into the bottom corner.
The second period began with another horrible moment for Elliott, screwing his mishit shot wide.
He atoned for it almost immediately, cutting out a cross-field Iwobi pass and slipping the ball to Gravenberch whose whipped shot had the pace to beat Leno.
Unlike in the first half, Fulham’s response was muted, partly because of a lack of ambition this time, but more because of Liverpool’s technical superiority in controlling possession of the ball.
They didn’t appear to need a third goal, but scored one anyway when Gakpo pressed forward before slipping the ball to Jota to cut his shot beyond the reach of Leno.
The final 20 minutes passed without incident, a welcome relief to Klopp given his side’s harrowing week.
For Fulham, comfortably despatched on this occasion, it showed again that when their fullest intensity is absent, they can still be maddeningly inconsistent.
Manager Marco Silva said: “We matched Liverpool in the first half, but in the second we didn’t cause them as many problems as we usually do. Our reaction to their second goal wasn’t as good as it was after we conceded in the first half.”
Leno 6; Castagne 7, Tosin 7, Bassey 6, Robinson 6; Iwobi 6 (Traore 85, 6), Lukic 5, Palhinha 6 (Cairney 71, 6), De Cordova-Reid 5 (Wilson 71, 6); Pereira 7; Muniz 5.
Rodak, Tete, Reed, Ream, Traore, Broja, Jimenez.
Alisson 6; Alexander-Arnold 8 (Gomez 80, 6), Quansah 6, van Dijk 6, Robertson 7; Endo 6, Gravenberch 7 (Mac Allister 74, 6); Diaz 7 (Salah 75, 6), Elliott 7, Gakpo 8 (Szoboszlai 87, 6); Jota 7 (Nunez 75, 6).
Kelleher, Gomez, Konate, Jones.
Craig Pawson
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