A chaotic game was settled by the England international, but the Reds’ defensive issues will concern Jurgen Klopp

Trent Alexander-Arnold worked his magic to fire Liverpool to a 4-3 win against Fulham on Sunday. A cracking free-kick from the right-back opened the scoring for the Reds, sparking into gear what turned out to be an absolutely wild match. And just as it looked like the teams would have to settle for a draw, it was the England star who settled matters with another fine strike in the 88th minute.

While the Reds escaped with the three points, they will be concerned about the defensive issues that left them facing a shock 3-2 defeat until late on. Liverpool fans will be praying for the return of goalkeeper Alisson after watching Caoimhin Kelleher flounder as Fulham struck three times despite the home team’s dominance.

After Alexander-Arnold’s fantastic first goal, which will actually go down as a Bernd Leno own goal after it bounced down off the crossbar and in off the German’s back, Alexis Mac Allister struck a truly wonderful shot to beat Leno from distance.

Sadly for the duo, they were let down at the back as Fulham equalised first through Harry Wilson taking advantage of a defensive mess on Liverpool’s part and then thanks to a Kenny Tete shot from close range. Kelleher looked bad on both goals – particularly the second – and was then left floundering as Bobby De Cordova-Reid headed in to give the away team the lead in the 80th minute.

Try as they might, the likes of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz could not manage to find the all important goal in the second half. The Egyptian was excellent at creating danger for the Fulham defence but poor finishing from all three forwards scuppered their chances, and it fell to a fine goal from Wataru Endo to level it before Alexander-Arnold found the winner.

GOAL rates Liverpool’s players from Anfield…

Goalkeeper & Defence

Caoimhin Kelleher (3/10):

Should have stopped the shot for Fulham’s first goal, looked terrible for the second and the third showed that he is nowhere near as much of a presence as Alisson.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (8/10):

His gorgeous free-kick helped to open the scoring after 20 minutes, but he should have been tighter to Wilson to block Fulham’s first equaliser. Proved decisive for the second week running with his superb late goal.

Joel Matip (7/10):

Left stranded by the dishevelled defence in the build-up to Fulham’s first equaliser but made some great interventions otherwise.

Virgil van Dijk (6/10):

Strong in defence again to keep Fulham at bay and a bit of a threat on set-pieces at the other end.

Kostas Tsimikas (5/10):

Had his bad moments as he seemed to switch off a bit, but fought hard to win the ball and combined well higher up. Beaten at the back post for Fulham’s third.

Midfield

Dominik Szoboszlai (5/10):

Another quiet performance from the summer signing, he didn’t play with the same imagination and effectiveness as we saw earlier in the season.

Alexis Mac Allister (7/10):

What a goal! He had been fairly quiet in midfield until he made his mark with an astounding strike.

Ryan Gravenberch (6/10):

Comfortable on the ball and made some good passes to help open up space for the attackers.

Attack

Mohamed Salah (7/10):

Was a real danger as he linked up perfectly with Nunez, teeing up the Uruguayan for a great chance that smacked the bar.

Darwin Nunez (6/10):

Some good movement to make himself available in a tight Fulham defence but missed all of his opportunities.

Luis Diaz (5/10):

The effort was there as he tried to weave his way through the Fulham back line but was a bit of a dead end.

Subs & Manager

Cody Gakpo (6/10):

A lively replacement for Szoboszlai, was better at creating danger and helped pressure Fulham as Liverpool equalised and then took the lead.

Joe Gomez (5/10):

Brought on to change Liverpool’s shape for the last 25 minutes, but left too much space for Fulham to set up their third goal.

Ibrahima Konate (4/10):

Did not look good for Fulham’s third, just too lackadaisical.

Wataru Endo (7/10):

Fired in a fantastic equaliser late on.

Jurgen Klopp (7/10):

His team were dominant and should have had a more comfortable afternoon given the opportunities they made. Substitutions Gakpo and Endo were excellent changes to make.