Harrison Reed struck a spectacular 97th-minute equaliser as Fulham held off a dramatic late surge from Liverpool to claim a thrilling 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage, extending the Cottagers’ unbeaten Premier League run to five matches, Softfootball reports.
Liverpool arrived in west London off the back of a goalless draw against Leeds United on New Year’s Day and began the contest brightly, but early wastefulness proved costly. Cody Gakpo dragged an effort wide of Bernd Leno’s far post, and Fulham punished the miss almost immediately. Jorge Cuenca’s incisive forward pass was cleverly flicked into space by Raúl Jiménez, allowing Harry Wilson to race clear and drill a low finish into the far corner.
Although the assistant initially raised the offside flag, a lengthy VAR review overturned the decision to confirm Wilson’s sixth league goal of the season.
That opener appeared to stun the visitors, who struggled to impose themselves before the break and managed just a single effort through Curtis Jones. The Reds returned with greater intent after HT, and their improvement was evident when Alexis Mac Allister powered a close-range header against the crossbar.
The equaliser soon followed, as Conor Bradley burst into the box and teed up Florian Wirtz, who curled a precise left-footed strike beyond Leno. Once again, VAR was required to overturn an offside call, allowing Wirtz’s effort to stand.
The German playmaker’s goal continued an impressive run of form, having opened his Liverpool account against Wolves in a performance that earned praise from head coach Arne Slot. He was once again influential here as the visitors sensed momentum shifting in their favour.
Fulham refused to retreat, though, and almost regained the lead when Alisson was caught out of position, only for Wilson to clip his effort onto the bar of an unguarded net. Liverpool looked to have snatched victory late on when Jeremie Frimpong’s dangerous cross evaded everyone except Gakpo, who tapped in at the back post to spark celebrations among the away support.
However, there was still time for one final twist. Introduced just moments before Liverpool’s second goal, Reed collected the ball on the edge of the area in the seventh minute of stoppage time and unleashed a stunning, dipping strike that crashed in off the underside of the bar to spark delirium inside Craven Cottage.
After the game ended, Liverpool via its Offical Youtube page, shared the post match reactions of Arne Slot on the draw against Fulham and what to expect going further. They posted
The dramatic equaliser preserves Fulham’s longest unbeaten league run of the calendar year, while Liverpool will be left frustrated after recording a fourth draw in seven Premier League outings.
