What We Learned From Liverpool's 0-0 Draw With Fulham at Anfield

Liverpool played out another Premier League draw yesterday afternoon against Fulham at Anfield. The significantly rotated side sent out by Andoni Iraola was unable to find a winner in a performance that looked like a shadow of what we saw midweek against Atletico Madrid.

So, what did we learn from Liverpool's third draw in four Premier League matches?

One way to explain this kind of performance, where every player looked poor, is to 'blame' fitness, and, indeed, Liverpool's players looked tired out there yesterday.

Andoni Iraola himself pointed to it post-match, he said:

Liverpool pressed hard for the full game against Atletico, with the second half seeing an unbelievably intense performance against the ball. It is no surprise the players felt it in their legs afterwards.

After two seasons of Arne Slot's low-intensity 'periodisation' training regime, it is going to take time for the Liverpool squad to adapt to Iraola's higher physical demands. 

A long period of adaptation was seen when he first joined Bournemouth. His Cherries side went on a nine-game winless run before securing their first three points under Iraola.

The head coach rotated for this game following the midweek match against Atletico Madrid, which included reintroducing Ryan Gravenberch into the midfield double pivot alongside Dominik Szoboszlai. 

It did not look good. Gravenberch struggled to have any impact on or against the ball, whilst Dominik Szoboszlai too often slowed down Liverpool's play, struggling to find the forward pass.

Iraola's decision to opt for Gravenberch ahead of Trey Nyoni, in the case that Alexis Mac Allister needed a rest, is an odd one. Gravenberch had seemingly fallen down the pecking order already this season, having not started since the opening game against Newcastle. And he had a very shaky cameo off the bench against Atletico.

The fact that Iraola did not pick Nyoni, despite the club's belief that the youngster is Curtis Jones' (who played c.2300 minutes last season) replacement in the squad, is interesting. Does the head coach not trust him as a genuine option to start Premier League games?

It is clear at this point that if either Gravenberch or Szoboszlai are to play in the midfield pivot, they need to be partnered by Mac Allister or Nyoni. The latter two players offer the line-breaking passing and defensive intelligence otherwise lacking in that midfield. 

Meanwhile, Kostas Tsimikas also endured a torrid performance at left-back, one so poor he was hooked at half-time for Milos Kerkez. Perhaps it is fair for Iraola to have expected more from the Greek international, who had a positive cameo in the final moments of Liverpool's midweek clash against Atletico Madrid.

Ultimately, Liverpool's level dropped due to rotation. That is a major red flag against the club's squad planning, especially when your new head coach plays an intense style of football that requires each member of his squad to be able to contribute.

Bradley Barcola made his second successive start for Liverpool but struggled to get involved in the game. Meanwhile, Alexander Isak's involvement was also limited to two chances at either end of the match, with which he could have done a bit better. 

Many will point to an uninspiring performance from Florian Wirtz as being the reason for Liverpool's blunt attack. Whilst the German international's poor close control and loose passing are indeed becoming hard to explain, he was not helped by the fact that he again covered the most ground for Liverpool yesterday (12.4 km).

Wirtz plays a huge out-of-possession role in this Iraola system, and he actually does it very well, but a question has to be asked whether this is damaging his on-the-ball performance. Liverpool are still inconsistent as an overall pressing unit, and until that is improved (which will take time and, in the worst case, the signing of new profiles of players for the squad), Liverpool's attack will not have as strong a foundation as it could.

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