Liverpool 0-0 Fulham result, stats and report

Liverpool 0-0 Fulham. Write it down. Stare at it. Liverpool had 56 per cent of the ball, 14 shots, four big chances created, and they could not score once. At home. Against a Fulham side that came into this match having lost three of their last five Premier League games. That is not a tactical problem. That is an execution problem. End of.

What Happened

Liverpool controlled large parts of this match. The numbers are not even close in terms of territory and intent. Liverpool registered 120 attacks to Fulham's 65. They created four big chances. They had 66 dangerous attacks to Fulham's 39. On paper this is a performance that wins football matches. On a pitch at Anfield on Saturday afternoon it produced nothing.

Fulham, to their credit, were organised. They did not come here to play football. They came here to compete. Their goalkeeper made three saves. Their outfield players put in 15 tackles. They cleared their lines, they stayed compact, and they did not give Liverpool anything easy. That is not pretty but it is professional. Marco Silva's side have done something right today even if their own attacking output was barely worth mentioning.

The thing is, when you get four big chances in a Premier League match and score none of them, you deserve nothing. That is not harsh. That is the basics of the game. You compete, you create, you finish. Liverpool did two of the three. The third one let them down completely.

The Substitutions Told a Story

Liverpool made five changes across the afternoon and the timing of them suggested the manager was desperate to find something. Mac Allister and Gakpo both came on at the hour mark, replacing Gravenberch and Víctor Muñoz respectively. Then at 72 minutes, three more followed: Frimpong came on for Ronald Araujo, and Rio Ngumoha replaced Bradley Barcola.

Five changes. None of them made the difference. When you are throwing bodies at the problem that late and still cannot convert, you have to look at the players on the pitch and ask serious questions about desire and accountability. Liverpool had the chances. They did not take them. That falls on the individuals who were standing in front of goal with the opportunity to win this game.

Fulham also made their changes. Kenny Tete came on at 63 minutes. At 72, Kevin replaced Timothy Castagne. Then at 77, Fulham brought on three at once: Hugo Larsson, Rodrigo Muniz and Emile Smith Rowe. Tete then picked up a yellow card for a foul on 81 minutes. Fulham were down to their last options and still Liverpool could not breach them. That tells you everything.

Fulham's Defensive Discipline

Listen, I am not going to pretend Fulham were brilliant here. They were not. They had one big chance. One. And they missed it. Their attacking output was poor. But defensively they were everything they needed to be.

Fulham won 34 duels across the match. They made nine interceptions. They had 84 ball safe actions. Their goalkeeper was called upon three times and dealt with all three. When a team travels to Anfield and keeps a clean sheet, you give them credit for that regardless of how it looked. Standards are standards. Fulham met theirs today. Liverpool did not meet theirs.

The thing is, Fulham came into this having lost to Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Chelsea in their last three Premier League matches. They were exactly the kind of opposition Liverpool needed to beat to show something about their own mentality. They did not. Liverpool's last five Premier League results now read: win, draw, draw, draw, loss. That is not the form of a side with the attitude to go and compete at the top of this league.

Liverpool's Finishing Was Unacceptable

Four big chances created. Four big chances missed. Liverpool had 14 shots in total and only three of them were on target. Their shots on target figure actually finished lower than Fulham's, who managed four on target from ten attempts. Wrap your head around that.

56 per cent possession. 13 key passes. Five accurate crosses. And a 0-0. At home. The possession numbers mean nothing when you cannot convert. I do not need anyone's laptop to tell me that a side which misses four big chances at Anfield does not deserve three points. What I want to know is why those players are not being held accountable for that standard of finishing.

Liverpool have kept one clean sheet in their last five Premier League matches. They have conceded nine goals in that same period. Today they added a clean sheet but no goals. It is a different kind of problem but it is still a problem.

The Signals Were Right

Verdict

Liverpool 0-0 Fulham is one of those results that does not feel like a disaster in the moment but should be treated as one. You are Liverpool. You are at home. You create four big chances. You do not score. Fulham arrive having lost three on the bounce and leave with a point.

The attitude today from Fulham deserves acknowledgement. They competed. They stayed disciplined. They did what they had to do. Liverpool did not do what they had to do. The basics of this game are simple. If you cannot finish, you do not win. If you do not win at home against a side in poor form, you are dropping points you cannot afford to drop.

There is no excuse here. No unlucky deflection to point at. No controversial decision. Liverpool had their chances and they wasted them. That is on the players. Accountability starts with the people on the pitch. End of.