Liverpool held at Anfield as Fulham pick up first point

· Sky-PL

Liverpool were held to a frustrating goalless draw as Fulham picked up their first point of the Premier League season at Anfield.

> "In the end, this is the easier one for me, for you, for everyone - our players were tired. I think there is a lack of freshness, definitely. We cannot hide it.

> "I think it's the worst turnaround in terms of 60-something hours between the games, after a very big game the other day. But this is going to happen more times, maybe with one more day, maybe. But sometimes it's going to happen the same way during the season.

> "We have to adapt to these circumstances. It's this kind of game that you need to win, sometimes with a set play, sometimes with a shot from the edge, sometimes from a moment of brilliance from the offensive players and we haven't had that today. We've been clearly not as good offensively as we've been in other days."

On the lack of control in midfield… "I think today, especially in the first half, we were arriving late to the presses. It's clear. I think we improved this part a lot in the second half. I think we've been better structured, I think we controlled better the game in the second half, even without scoring the goal."

On whether playing at home is an issue… "I didn't feel it three days ago against Atletico Madrid. Is it because we haven't won? I don't know. I prefer to play at home, definitely I prefer to play at home. We cannot find the reasons outside, we have to find the reasons inside the pitch."

Arbeloa: Fulham found the right balance

Fulham head coach Alvaro Arbeloa speaking in the press conference:

> "I know that when you are not winning games, it's not so easy that your players believe in your ideas. I know everything is easy when you win but they believe in the way that we have been working and I showed them the things that we were doing so well.

> "I think there were so many things that we did well but we have been making mistakes and of course, in this league, if you make mistakes, they will punish you. That's the league, that's the level and we need to understand that, how important it is.

> "If you have chances, try to take those chances but also to be a little bit more balanced and control the transition against a team when all teams here in England have quick players. I think we did better and we realised how important it is to be balanced.

> "From my first day, we trained so hard about the transition. But I think everything changed after the Crystal Palace game because I think we have been working all this week, but in the first week also, how important it is to be balanced when you have the ball."

Image: Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai during the 0-0 draw with Fulham

Analysis: Did Atletico impact Iraola's Liverpool?

There were celebrations at Anfield on Wednesday evening when Andoni Iraola picked up the first Champions League win of his coaching career against Atletico Madrid. But that win was always going to come at some point this season. There was a bigger question.

One of the themes of this Liverpool season was always likely to be how the Basque coach would be able to cope with an increased schedule, having impressed at Rayo Vallecano and Bournemouth without the added challenge of European commitments.

This was the first test of that and Liverpool did not pass it. They were unable to play at the tempo that Iraola usually demands, starting slowly and struggling to raise the level. Fulham, with an injection of attacking substitutes of their own, looked as likely to win it.

Iraola's unbeaten run as Liverpool boss continues, one that extends back to the first week of January for him personally given his exploits with the Cherries. But home games against Nottingham Forest and Fulham have yielded only two points. More is needed.

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