Our second Scout Notes article of Gameweek 12 looks at the Sunday lunchtime clash between Liverpool and Fulham.
The fervour in the Fantasy community ahead of the visit of the Premier League’s leakiest defence to Anfield was palpable before kick-off, with hopes high for a goalfest among those who owned Liverpool assets.
Almost inevitably in this rather underwhelming Gameweek, the anticipated monster Fantasy Premier League scores failed to materialise as not one of the Reds’ midfielders or forwards posted a double-digit return.
There was plenty to be content about, however, particularly for those managers who owned one or both of Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, with Liverpool’s full-backs each registering an assist and bonus points to go with their clean sheets.
Mohamed Salah and Xherdan Shaqiri both got on the scoresheet, meanwhile, but there was frustration for FPL bosses who backed Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane to exploit a Fulham backline that had conceded 29 goals in 11 matches prior to this weekend.
Liverpool 2-0 Fulham
- Goals: Mohamed Salah (£13.0m), Xherdan Shaqiri (£7.0m)
- Assists: Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.0m), Andrew Robertson (£6.4m)
Not for the first time in 2018/19, Liverpool coasted to victory against a struggling Premier League side without breaking sweat or indeed threatening to ruthlessly expose their opposition’s inadequacies as Manchester City so often have this season.
The Reds never really got out of second gear and had even gone close to conceding in the first half, before goals either side of half-time from Mohamed Salah (£13.0m) and Xherdan Shaqiri (£7.0m) took the game beyond their dogged – if limited – visitors.
The match almost resembled a pre-season friendly after Shaqiri’s strike, with Jurgen Klopp’s side not particularly looking like racking up a cricket score and Fulham running out of steam after troubling their hosts on occasion before the break.
The midday kick-off and the Reds’ European exertions in Belgrade may have been mitigating factors, but Klopp had talked previously of his side learning to win “average games” and this was another one of those efficient victories in the mould of the Brighton/Huddersfield successes earlier this season.
The Liverpool manager had declared himself happy, though, when speaking to the media after full-time:
In a few moments, it was tougher, in a few moments, it was not tough. That’s how it is. When we saw the line-up we were obviously a bit surprised – how could we prepare for that line-up? It was the first time in the season I think that they played like this, with four or five centre-halves. It was clear then what would be their approach. So far, Fulham have always had a football-playing idea and today you saw it – after winning the second ball they were on their toes, they played football but with a lot of long build-ups, a lot of long situations and Mitrovic did outstandingly well in these situations.
So that was a bit tricky but apart from that, I thought the boys did really well from the beginning. We created, we passed, we accelerated in the right moments.
We had big chances early with Sadio, Shaq, Mo in the box where they blocked it in the last second, where the goalie could make a save. I don’t know how exactly many chances there were today, it’s not too important.
We scored twice, maybe it’s a bit strange that one was after a quick restart and one after a set-piece, the second ball phase, but that’s very important as well that you have these situations and you can use it. So I’m completely happy.
Shaqiri had, as anticipated, come into the Liverpool starting XI on the right flank as Klopp rolled out a 4-2-3-1, with Salah used as the focal point of the Reds’ attack, Roberto Firmino (£9.2m) deployed in the “number ten” role and Sadio Mane (£9.9m) stationed on the left wing as usual.
Goals aside, Shaqiri and Salah were the brightest sparks in the Liverpool frontline.
The Egyptian had seven more penalty box touches than any other player on show at Anfield and had three other presentable chances to add to his tally, forcing Sergio Rico (£4.4m) into saves from good positions in the first half and then seeing a goal-bound effort blocked by a Fulham body in stoppage-time.
The best of Salah’s opportunities came after a fantastic one-two with Firmino had set him free on goal and the Brazilian was again more of a creative presence than a dangerous goal threat, dropping deep into midfield to link up play and having only one attempt on goal.
No player registered more key passes at Anfield than Firmino, but it’s now seven league matches without an attacking return for the Brazil international. With Salah increasingly the nucleus of the Liverpool attack, Firmino’s appeal wanes by the week – on Sunday, he had only two touches in the Fulham penalty area.
Mane, meanwhile, had as many shots on goal as Salah and Shaqiri and could easily have been on the scoresheet himself if his radar had been properly aligned.
The Senegal midfielder screwed wide early in the game when found in the box by Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.0m) and later had a rising effort tipped over by Rico, but his off-day was summed up late in the first half when taking a heavy touch after being put through on goal on the left flank.
While Mane’s explosive quality (four double-digit hauls this season) still marks him out as a premium midfielder worthy of consideration, the fact that he has blanked in six of the last seven matches is a slight cause for concern, even if some of those fixtures were tricky in nature.
While he is, of course, available at a more attractive price, Mane isn’t quite in the same reliable league as Salah in terms of captaincy credentials, having now blanked in home matches against Brighton, Southampton and Fulham (fixtures in which he would have to be considered for the armband if owned and games in which Salah delivered eight points on each occasion).
Shaqiri was industrious and creative on the Liverpool right and twice dragged shots wide in the first half when well-positioned on the edge of the box, but got a deserved goal just after the interval when he coolly volleyed home Andrew Robertson‘s (£6.4m) excellent first-time cross to put the game beyond the Cottagers.
The Swiss midfielder also created Salah’s second chance of the match with a lofted through ball to the Egyptian, though like Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m) was guilty of squandering a decent free-kick opportunity just outside the Fulham box.
Shaqiri’s performance may spark some modest interest in the former Stoke City winger but in truth, his appeal was probably as a one-week punt for the Fulham match, with some trickier fixtures on the horizon and obvious concern about his pitch-time going forward.
An injury or two to Mane, Salah and/or Firmino, though, and we may soon be revisiting the diminutive playmaker’s case as a mid-price midfielder.
Liverpool’s full-backs emerged from the 2-0 win with the biggest points totals, having each played a key part in one of their sides’ goals.
Alexander-Arnold had experienced a tough week with below-par performances against Arsenal and Red Star but those Fantasy managers who kept faith in the England right-back were rewarded with an 11-point haul on Sunday.
While appearing like he was trying too hard at times and still occasionally caught out positionally down Fulham’s left, Alexander-Arnold was – in the first half especially – noticeably prominent in attacking situations and recorded more touches in the final third than any other player on show.
The young full-back looped a header over Rico’s goal in the first half and set up an excellent chance for Mane before finally registering an attacking return for his through-ball for Salah’s opener.
Alexander-Arnold continues to look a threat from set-piece situations too, having taken four of Liverpool’s corners and having had two direct free-kick attempts blocked.
Robertson was less conspicuous in his side’s attacking sojourns in the opening 45 minutes but was more involved after the break, looking menacing on the overlap and, minutes after he had crossed for Shaqiri’s goal, forcing Rico into a save after being released in the box by Firmino.
Liverpool’s defence clocked up another clean sheet (their seventh of the season) but they were perhaps fortunate to do so, with Ryan Sessegnon (£6.0m) spurning a gilt-edged chance on 24 minutes after a flick-on from Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.6m).
Sessegnon then fired wide from a slightly more difficult angle and, 13 seconds before Liverpool broke the deadlock, Mitrovic – the most-sold FPL forward of Gameweek 12 – had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside call.
The amount of space that Mitrovic and Andre Schurrle (£5.9m) were afforded with shots from just outside the Fulham box would also have been a concern to Klopp, with perhaps a third body being lost in central midfield to accommodate Shaqiri further forward one of the reasons that the Reds’ back four looked exposed at times.
Klopp has had his reservations with a 4-2-3-1 formation in the past, notably when switching to a 4-3-3 at half-time in the Gameweek 6 win over Southampton having been unhappy with the number of dangerous situations the Saints had been presented with.
Fulham were better than they had been at Huddersfield and Jokanovic could see a ray of hope in the defeat to the Reds, also bemoaning the offside decision for Liverpool’s opening goal:
I watched the clips and Robertson definitely didn’t squeeze up enough. My players are onside and scored the goal. It was a crucial moment and we went from being one goal up to one goal down.
I don’t want to say Liverpool don’t deserve the win. They created the chances and scored the goals, but we didn’t defend this counter-attack well, although this counter-attack shouldn’t exist.
It’s a completely absurd situation, but we needed to defend. This guy [Salah] is really fast and finished the action well, but the sensation is that we’re frustrated, disappointed.
From another side, my team played a decent game against a complicated opponent. Even before we scored the goal we had two very good chances. We showed we can play organised and be solid against a really complicated team.
I can’t leave satisfied with this defeat but while we might not have taken a step forward, we definitely made half a step forward. The team showed desire, organisation and a positive face in looking for a better performance.
Cyrus Christie (£4.2m) was preferred to Timothy Fosu-Mensah (£4.5m) at right-back, while Maxime Le Marchand (£4.2m) was deployed at left-back to allow Sessegnon to move further up the flank.
Calum Chambers (£4.2m) was used “out of position” in central midfield, meanwhile, and his performance drew praise from Jokanovic after full-time:
Calum Chambers played as a holding defensive midfielder and gave us a little bit of balance and power. He did a good job outside of his natural position and can be an option we can think about in the future.
Klopp, meanwhile, was asked about Liverpool’s players reporting for international duty, beginning by discussing Naby Keita (£7.2m):
If you ask me, I always want them to stay here but in this case, it is good for him. Guinea play one game against Ivory Coast I think and that will be tough for him, but good for him. He is fit, he is now four or five days in training and so now he will have another four or five days in training and then play a game. That’s brilliant for him. In this case, I am happy.
Most of the players only have one game, England and Brazil have two games and the latest games as well on Tuesday night. It is good that the Brazilians are at least in England so the travel stress will not be too much. It is like it is, we don’t have to think about it. If a player is fit and is called up, then they go.
Joe [Gomez] had all the games. With Joe we are not sure, we are in talks about that. Hendo is 100 per cent fit, he needs games as well and that’s cool. I cannot make the decisions for the managers of the different countries, so if they call them up, then they go there.
Liverpool XI (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Wijnaldum (Henderson 69′), Fabinho (Keita 90′); Shaqiri (Milner 81′), Firmino, Mane; Salah 7.5
Fulham XI (4-3-3): Rico; Christie, Odoi, Mawson, Le Marchand; Zambo Anguissa (Johansen 84′), Chambers, Cairney (Seri 63′); Sessegnon, Schurrle (Vietto 78′), Mitrovic
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