Liverpool endured several adversities to avoid defeat as they held to a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Marco Silva’s Fulham at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday.
The visitors took the lead in the 11th minute through Andreas Pereira before Andy Robertson’s last-gasp strike by Harry Wilson in the 17th minute Sent off. Arne Slott’s side responded well to the setbacks, however, and equalized through Cody Gakpo after the break.
Fulham fought back through Rodrigo Muniz, but Slott’s super-sub Diogo Jota came off the bench to equalize late on.
While that’s a good score, considering the circumstances following Robertson’s red card, some of the Reds’ players performed poorly, including Luis Diaz.
Luis Diaz’s performance against Fulham
The Colombia international was chosen to lead Liverpool’s attack ahead of Darwin Nunez and Jota, but he failed to provide enough help at the top of the pitch.
He performed well in the physical aspects of the game and won the game two of his four Confrontations on the ground and in the air meant the forward was not bullied by Fulham defenders.
However, Diaz only completed 79% of pass attempts And completed a key pass, but did not create a “big chance” for his teammates, which shows that it is difficult for him to provide much help in terms of creativity.
The 27-year-old attacker was also wasteful in front of goal. he Missed a “great opportunity” And failed to convert his 0.64 xG (over two shots) into goals.
Slott must replace him with backup striker Jota in Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup tie against Southampton, while another player who should be dropped from the starting line-up immediately is midfielder Curtis Jones.
Curtis Jones’ performance against Fulham
The Liverpool academy graduate gained recognition in midfield alongside Ryan Gravenberg and Dominik Szoboszlai and struggled both in and out of possession.
Jones is not good enough to compete with the Fulham players because he 75% duel failure (3/4) Throughout his time on the pitch, it showed how easy it was for opposing players to beat him.
However, it’s not just his performance on the ball that leaves a lot to be desired, the England international Creation failed Give your teammates a chance.
vs fulham | jones | gravenberg | Sobosla |
|---|---|---|---|
touch | 50 | 80 | 51 |
key pass | 0 | 0 | 3 |
duel won | 1 | 7 | 5 |
Tackle + Interception | 0 | 4 | 2 |
dribble past | 2x | 0x | 1x |
As you can see in the table above, both of his midfield partners are significantly better than him from a defensive perspective, with Szoboszlai being Sloter’s main creative threat.
Given this performance, and given that this is a midweek cup match, the Dutch manager must consider immediately dropping the Liverpool lightweight on the bench for Wednesday’s clash with Saints, as He struggled both on and off the ball.
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