Alisson tells Liverpool to find ‘right mindset’ after Fulham stalemate

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker says his side must develop the “right mentality” to deal with the demands of competing on multiple fronts after being held to a goalless draw by Fulham at Anfield.

The Reds produced an impressive 2-1 Champions League win over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday but were unable to maintain that level three days later. Liverpool created few clear chances against Fulham, who had lost their opening three Premier League matches.

Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola said the short recovery period had affected his players.

“Our players were tired. We cannot hide it,” he said.

“I think it’s the worst turnaround in terms of 60 something hours between the games, after a very big game the other day.

“This is going to happen more times, maybe with one more day, but sometimes it’s going to happen the same way during the season. We have to adapt to these circumstances.”

Liverpool remain unbeaten under Iraola, but three of their first four league fixtures have ended in draws. They have collected six points from a possible 12.

The result also means they have failed to win either of their first two Premier League home matches for only the third time in 63 years.

Alisson said preserving their unbeaten record was not enough to make the result acceptable.

“We are not happy at all with the draw,” he told Sky Sports. “It is not something that should happen with Liverpool.

“To be unbeaten, but with three draws, is not something to celebrate too much with this shirt.”

The Brazil international believes Liverpool’s response to a crowded schedule could determine whether they challenge for major honours this season.

“Obviously, it’s a big challenge to play Wednesday night and Saturday evening, and you have another game Tuesday,” Alisson told the club’s official website.

“But we need to get the right mentality to do that and I think it wasn’t the case. We have to improve for the next one.

“This is the challenge for every big team who are playing in all competitions. If we want to do something special this season we have to cope with that.”

Liverpool’s attacking trio of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola, whose combined cost is close to £500m, started together in the Premier League for the first time but made little impact.

Isak managed just 16 touches during the 90 minutes, while Wirtz could not replicate his influential performance against Atletico Madrid. Barcola also found it difficult to make an impression on his full league debut.

Iraola accepted Liverpool lacked their usual sharpness in attack, although he was satisfied with the defensive structure that restricted Fulham to one clear chance.

“It’s the first game since I’m here I think we’ve had problems to create chances, to score goals, to make the difference offensively,” he said.

“That’s the main reason that we couldn’t create as many chances as we wanted.”

He added that Liverpool must learn to win matches even when they are below their best.

“It’s these kinds of games that you need to win; sometimes with a set play, sometimes with a shot from the edge of the box, sometimes from a moment of brilliance from the offensive players,” Iraola said.

“We haven’t had that today.”

Alisson said the priority was to bring greater intensity to future matches.

“The quality we have – we have so many top players – but we need to take and put more energy on the pitch for the next games,” he said.

“Deep inside we have it, we just need to put it out.”