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Arne Slaughter Said he felt he could not risk Hugo Ekitic in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw. fulham His offensive options are limited.
The striker underwent an MRI scan before traveling London This revealed a glitch that left Slot feeling he had no choice but to exclude the 23-year-old from the Cody Agathe in front of.
Without his three main goal threats, his team looked weak offensively and their best performances paled.
Gakpo’s goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time looked to have won the game liverpool A valuable, if not unearned, comeback victory at Craven Cottage put them in a strong position in the race for the Premier League’s top four until Fulham’s Harrison Reid scored one of the goals of the season seconds later to deny the title.
Slott is already missing Mohamed Salah for the Africa Cup of Nations and the injured Alexander Isak.
Ejitek is easily Liverpool’s top scorer this season with 11 goals, more than twice as many as second-placed player Dominik Szoboszlai, who failed to have a shot on target in the first half in west London.
“He felt something during training, so he went in for an MRI scan,” Slaughter said. “We got the results on the flight, so we’re hoping it’s just DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).
“Why? Because since Alex is out, he doesn’t play 70 or 60 minutes, sometimes he takes a break. He has to play 80 or 90 minutes every game and it’s the first time in his life in the Premier League, the first time there’s no winter break, the first time in the Champions League.
“It’s not surprising that he then felt tired. Unfortunately we saw a lot more[on the scan]and you can’t risk it.
“Florian (Wirtz) is also experiencing this program for the first time, and if I don’t have that many players, I want the players I have to be able to come in and play as much as possible.”
Wirtz, fit and healthy, equalized for Liverpool in the second half to make it 1-1 after a wild run from Conor Bradley. Harry Wilson had earlier given Fulham the lead.
There would be drama in the final moments, as first Gakpo looked to win the game by turning the ball into the goal through his thigh from a few yards out, before substitute Reed fired a stunning 30-yard shot into the top corner in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
“If you’re not a Liverpool player or you don’t follow us every game, you think we’re winning,” Slaughter said. “But unfortunately I’ve been experiencing this for months. The only chance they had in the first half resulted in a goal. It’s something we see a lot.”
Fulham boss Marco Silva reflects on a game he felt his team should have won.
“It feels weird, to be honest,” he said. “I thought we could win the game. We were better in the first half and we controlled Liverpool.
“We had to be aggressive against Liverpool and we scored a fantastic opening goal. Harry Wilson’s goal was fantastic.
“Liverpool didn’t have any chances in the first half.”