Ten-man Liverpool rescued a point in a dramatic 2-2 draw with Fulham at Anfield on Saturday afternoon thanks to a late goal from the returning Diogo Jota.
Andreas Pereira opened the scoring for the visitors with 11 minutes elapsed by acrobatically converting a deep cross at the back post following a counter-attack.
Andy Robertson was then shown a red card soon after having brought down Harry Wilson when the winger looked to break through on goal.
Cody Gakpo drew the 10-men level shortly after half-time when he headed in Mohamed Salah’s cross at close range to give Arne Slot’s side hope; however, Rodrigo Muniz touched in a second for Fulham with 14 minutes of normal time remaining.
Nevertheless, Jota came off the bench to sweep in an equaliser on his first appearance since October 20 to make sure Liverpool took something for their endeavours.
Team news
Liverpool’s teamsheet showed one change from the Champions League win over Girona in Spain in midweek, with Gakpo replacing Darwin Nunez.
Federico Chiesa and Jota were named among the substitutes after recovering from respective fitness issues.
First half
There was a stop-start feel to the opening exchanges at Anfield, with three bookings and a delay for a knock sustained by Robertson inside the first 10 minutes of play.
Nevertheless, the first half-chance arrived with eight gone – Wilson’s undersold back-pass seized upon by Curtis Jones, but thwarted by the recovery challenge of Issa Diop in the area.
However, Fulham took the lead when Pereira stretched at the back post to hook in a centre from Antonee Robinson, finding the net via a deflection off Robertson.
The start to the game would go from bad to worse for Liverpool when Robertson was shown a red card on 17 minutes after Wilson had pounced on his attempt to control a ball in behind and gone down under his attempt to recover.
A lengthy VAR check followed, but the punishment was allowed to stand, deeming the incident a denial of a goalscoring opportunity and leaving the Reds with plenty of work to do.
A Joe Gomez block from a Wilson drive thwarted Fulham just after the half-hour, with the visitors looking threatening on the break.
Liverpool then fashioned a good chance to level as half-time edged closer, Luis Diaz heading over six yards out from Dominik Szoboszlai’s floated delivery, ensuring the Cottagers retained their advantage at the break.
Second half
The Reds didn’t have to wait long to draw themselves level after the restart. Indeed, Gakpo dove to head in a sublime Salah delivery from the left inside the opening two minutes and equalise.
With Anfield now rocking, the No.18 had a low drive kept out by Bernd Leno soon after, but the home side were now playing with a real intensity.
Gomez then had an effort collected by the opposition goalkeeper, but Fulham retained a threat on the break – Wilson nudging wide and Sasa Lukic having a strike deflected off target.
Then, on 65 minutes, Liverpool countered from a Fulham corner, but Salah could only steer wide of the near post from Szoboszlai’s lay-off inside the area.
The Egyptian had another opportunity moments later with a shot on the turn from a Diaz cross that whistled past the same upright.
But Fulham regained the lead with 14 minutes remaining when Muniz turned in Robinson’s cut-back from close range after a raid down the left.
The Reds pressed to find a second leveller, with Harvey Elliott coming close with a curler inside the area – and it was another substitute who would pounce to restore parity.
Nunez played a ball to Jota on the edge of the area, who side-stepped Jorge Cuenca and rolled a low finish beyond Leno.
Nine minutes of added time gave cause for hope of a winner – and Diaz went agonisingly close with a deflected shot after a chaotic scramble inside the area.
Liverpool still needed Alisson Becker to keep out an Adama Traore drive in a frantic finale that would finish all square.
via www.liverpoolfc.com
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