Fulham 2 – 2 Liverpool

Fulham came close to producing one of the biggest shocks on the opening weekend of any Premier League season as Aleksandar Mitrovic marked his return to the top flight with two goals in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Craven Cottage.

Mohamed Salah levelled for the visitors with 10 minutes remaining to deny Marco Silva’s side a famous victory after a performance full of endeavour that celebrated Fulham being back in the top division.

Much has been made of whether Mitrovic can cut it at this level, having scored just three goals in his last Premier League campaign two seasons ago, but he bullied Trent Alexander-Arnold for his headed opener (32) before striking the winning penalty after being fouled inside the box by Virgil van Dijk (72).

Darwin Nunez came off the bench to open his account (64) and cancel out Mitrovic’s first strike from Salah’s cross while Jordan Henderson might have won it for Liverpool in second-half stoppage time when his curled effort cannoned off the crossbar.

How Fulham made their point on PL return

Fulham chairman Shahid Khan stressed in his programme notes that the club had the idea of “complementing, not compromising, the chemistry and environment” that Silva has established since last summer.

Silva feared his squad was not ready for this ultimate curtain-raiser, citing only 16 senior players following last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Villarreal, but it appeared he was bluffing judging by the start his side made.

Mitrovic, who scored a record 43 goals in the Championship last season, had a sight of goal inside the opening minute after good high pressing from Bobby Decordova-Reid on Trent Alexander-Arnold, but the Serbian striker poked his shot wide.

It sparked a bright opening from the hosts, with debutants Andreas Pereira and Joao Palhinha looking classy operators midfield, but Liverpool would slowly assert themselves as Luis Diaz correctly had a goal ruled out for an offside against Andrew Robertson in the build-up on 15 minutes.

Unperturbed by the warning sign, Harrison Reed raced onto an Antonee Robinson cross to slam a shot into the body of Andrew Robertson but it would be a more familiar goalscorer who would have Liverpool on the canvas.

Having struggled to find rhythm and create chances against a newly-promoted side giving it their all in their first game back in the top flight. The Cottagers took the lead in the 32nd minute. Kenny Tete sent in a deep cross to the far post where Mitrovic beat Trent Alexander-Arnold to head past Alisson.

Luis Diaz was comfortably the best performer in a Liverpool shirt before the interval, and the Colombian came within inches of an instant response when he ran onto Thiago’s pass to crash a left-foot shot against the post, but Fulham deservedly led at the break.

Klopp waited six minutes of the second-half before introducing Nunez, and Liverpool’s new £85m club-record signing got to work immediately. Fulham might have doubled their lead when Neeskens Kebano’s diagonal shot struck the inside of the post, and they were ruing that miss as Nunez levelled.

The Uruguayan had already been denied from point-blank range by Marek Rodak when he beat the offside trap to produce a sublime improvised finish from Salah’s low cross. Moments later, Tim Ream was hacking the ball off the line to deny Nunez. At that point, you sensed there would only be one winner, but Fulham showed their resilience to nudge back in front.

There appeared very little on for the isolated Mitrovic, but having got his head down and dribbled inside the Liverpool box, a stray outstretched leg from Van Dijk left referee Andrew Madley in no doubt pointing to the spot.

It meant Liverpool had ended a run of 51 Premier League matches without conceding a penalty, the longest ongoing run in the competition.

Alisson didn’t come close to keep out the striker’s confident penalty as Klopp turned to Fabio Carvalho in need of further inspiration. But it was Salah who would provide the response, in typical fashion.

There appeared little danger from Alexander-Arnold’s hopeful centre towards Nunez, but a mix-up between Ream and Tosin allowed the substitute to set up Salah for his customary strike on the opening weekend of a Premier League season – his sixth in a row, a new record.

It would set up a thrilling finale, and Henderson nearly penned the last word when he curled a first-time shot against the crossbar – but it would have been harsh on Fulham, who were excellent value for this point.

Resilient Reds – Opta stats

• Liverpool have gained 115 points from losing positions under Jürgen Klopp in the Premier League, the most of any side since the German took over in October 2015.
• Fulham have avoided defeat in their first game back in the top-flight after promotion for the first time ever, losing on each of the previous five occasions (1949-50, 1959-60, 2001-02, 2018-19 and 2020-21).
• Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 20 Premier League games (W16 D4), since a 1-0 loss at Leicester in December 2021 while they are now unbeaten in 10 opening day games in the competition (W8 D2).
• Fulham are now unbeaten in three games against Liverpool in all competitions (W1 D2), after losing each of the six before that.
• Liverpool gave away a penalty for the first time in their last 52 Premier League games, thus ending the longest ongoing run in the competition, while Virgil van Dijk conceded a penalty for the first time in the competition since October 2018 against Manchester City.

What’s next?

Monday 15th August 7:00pm


Kick off 8:00pm

The first Monday Night Football of the season sees Liverpool host Crystal Palace on August 15. Coverage starts at 7pm ahead of an 8pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports.

Fulham head to Wolves on Saturday August 13; kick-off 3pm.