‘Got exactly what they deserved…’ – Steve Nicol fumes over ‘schoolboy’ error in Liverpool draw
Steve Nicol was left seething over a ‘schoolboy’ error from Liverpool as they threw away two points at the death in their 2-2 draw at Fulham on Sunday.
When Cody Gakpo struck in the fourth minute of stoppage time, it seemed for all the world that the Reds would escape Craven Cottage with a hard-fought victory to pull clear of the chasing pack for fourth place.
However, the visitors were stung by a long-range piledriver from Harrison Reed as the clock entered the 97th minute, with the midfielder having the time and space to unleash a rocket of a shot into the top corner of Alisson Becker’s net.
Nicol blasts ‘schoolboy’ defending for Reed goal
While Nicol rightly praised the Fulham man for his explosive finish, he was scathing of Liverpool’s failure to push out and close down the 30-year-old.
The pundit said on ESPN FC: “If you look at the equaliser, it’s a throw-in, so everyone is back and they think it’s going to be a long throw. As soon as you see that it’s gonna be short, somebody has to be in charge, whether it’s either of the centre-backs, your captain probably should be, or your goalkeeper to push everybody out.
“Instead, they all stand on the six-yard box. Including the goalie, there are nine Liverpool players standing in the six-yard box. When you’re playing the game, you try to cut down percentages.
“He deserves praise [Reed] and well done Fulham, but from a Liverpool point of view, the basics of defending – when the ball goes backwards, then you move out. Everybody just stood! It’s schoolboy defending.
“Again, I’m not taking away from the strike, but if there’s somebody closer to him and he has to be hurried… someone should be sprinting out to him to put him off, but they weren’t and that’s why they lost two points… They got exactly what they deserved.”
An incredible strike from Reed, but Nicol’s fury is justified
We must state that it was an exceptional strike from Reed, not least when he hadn’t scored for Fulham in nearly three years, and praise should first and foremost go to him for having the confidence and technique to pull it off.
However, Nicol’s fury at Liverpool for not closing down the goalscorer is justified. At the time that he struck the ball, there were at least three Reds players not marking any opponent, and the short throw-in had allowed for sufficient time to push out from the six-yard box.
Jamie Carragher claimed that it ‘shouldn’t be so easy to get a shot on the edge of the box’, and he’s right. Arne Slot’s team seemed paralysed by fear in that moment, rather than being proactive enough to reduce the space in front of Reed.
It didn’t need every LFC player to sprint forward and close him down, but there was definitely scope for at least one or two to sprint out and not let the Fulham midfielder have such an invitation to shoot.
Liverpool have now relinquished six points with the concession of stoppage-time goals in the Premier League this season and are thus looking over their shoulders at Chelsea and Manchester United behind them.
John Aldridge believes that a top-four finish is now the Reds’ aim for the rest of the campaign, and two decent opportunities to pull clear of the chasing pack for fourth place have not been taken over the past week.
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