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Liverpool seized the opportunity to lead the Premier League on Sunday when they drew 1-1 with Fulham.
Mohamed Salah’s penalty in the second half was enough to salvage a point from a frustrating afternoon at Craven Cottage for Jurgen Klopp and his players after Bobby Decordova-Reid crushed the hosts up front.
Tottenham’s 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace earlier in the day leaves the Reds on top with Jose Mourinho’s team ahead of Wednesday night’s top-of-the-table showdown at Anfield.
But you knew all that, of course.
What you might have missed though was a number of interesting subplots set in West London during the game.
Awake!
For the last six months of Premier League football with no supporters, Jurgen Klopp has been listened to regularly.
The Reds boss and his audible instructions have been felt in every field he has visited since June.
With no supporters on the field to cushion Klopp’s demands, Liverpool’s players have been left with their ears ringing as a result.
Yet even with 2,000 boisterous local fans at Craven Cottage on Sunday, Klopp’s anger could not be drowned out in the capital.
As he watched his players drift through a really poor first half, Klopp urged his team to “wake up!”
The screams could probably be heard in the vicinity of Stamford Bridge, such was the Reds manager’s frustration.
“Awake!”
They did, eventually.
Salah beats Cristiano Ronaldo
With a hit from his left boot, Mohamed Salah leveled things out in the second half.
It was a goal that the Reds probably didn’t deserve, but that they grabbed with both hands.
The penalty conversion was Salah’s thirteenth goal of the season and his 85th in the Premier League in his spells with Chelsea and Liverpool.
Goal number 85 also knocked him out of the great Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 84 goals in six years as a Manchester United player.
The fact that it took Salah just over half the time to do that shows just how prolific he has been at Anfield, even if the legendary Ronaldo wasn’t the iconic superstar he’s now revered with during his training days at Old Trafford. .
At the age of 28, Salah is probably now reaching his peak years as a forward, which is a tantalizing prospect for Reds fans.
He will become a great Premier League player when he finally looks for new pasture in the future.
Wijnaldum’s hidden talent?
On the list of potential set-piece specialists in Liverpool, Gini Wijnaldum is probably very low in the pecking order.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is the Reds’ resident free throw shooter who has huddled home during his time in the first team.
Fabinho is also known to have a high chance of dead balls after hitting a couple of howitzers last season.
Mohamed Salah will always support himself as well, while Jordan Henderson can hit them every now and then.
Wijnaldum, however, is not someone I would normally associate with taking a free kick.
But that’s exactly what the Dutchman did when he shot one on Fulham’s goal in the 79th minute.
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The well-executed effort could have given goalkeeper Alphonse Areola some trouble had he not been stopped by Aboubakar Kamara with his arm.
From that, the visitors received the penalty and their lifeline back into the game.
Maybe Wijnaldum can try his luck again the next time Liverpool have a free kick in shooting position?
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