Draw feels like end of the world for Klopp and Liverpool after dropping points at Fulham

They have created a culture at Liverpool where draws are compared to defeats and, on the banks of the Thames, you saw this mindset. 

Mo Salah scurried to the dressing room at the final whistle, barely casting a glance towards the away section, Virgil van Dijk was similarly vexed, muttering to himself as the ramifications of the 2-2 draw with Fulham began to sink in.

Jurgen Klopp was not far behind, offering no more than a courteous clap as he made his way to sanctuary. He was calmer than he had been before, having earlier been involved in a frank exchange of views with Alisson and almost combusting when Andy Robertson chose the wrong option.

 The Reds players considered the draw like a defeat having already lost ground in the title race

In the not-too-distant past, a point at a newly-promoted club on the opening day would have been acceptable. Fulham, playing with vigour and endeavour in front of an enthusiastic crowd, were absolutely worth a share of the spoils and could feel a little aggrieved not to have won.

But this is a new world of football where there is no scope for making false steps and the climate is such that anything other than a win feels like the end of the world. To make an analogy, this title race is like the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

They go flat-to-the-boards from the off in that event, barely catching their breath over two miles and 13 fences and rarely do those who make a mistake over the first three obstacles get involved at the finish. If the rhythm is wrong from the start, it is hard to recover.

And how Liverpool’s rhythm was wrong. It all began inside the first minute, when Trent Alexander-Arnold carelessly and casually surrendered possession and gave Aleksandar Mitrovic the invitation to set the tone for Fulham by barrelling into the area.

Mitrovic would go on to score twice and the confidence he took, having only scored three times in his last Premier League season, was evident to all.

‘That’s what it was all about last year and that’s what we’re going to carry on doing,’ said his team-mate, Tim Ream. ‘His first goal was a vintage far-post header, leaping over the full back. You give him an opportunity and he’s going to make the most of it.

‘I’m not sure we expected him to put two away against one of the strongest defences in the league but, as long as he is putting chances in the back of the net, we are going to be all right.’

Darwin Nunez came on and made a goal-scoring impact as he did in the Community Shield

Whenever the Serb threatened, Klopp was on his feet with his face scrunched up and his hands on his hips. Part of his assessment afterwards was that the pitch was too dry but, nice headline though it is, the observation should not disguise the fact this was a poor Liverpool performance.

‘We can play a lot better,’ conceded Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who almost came to his team’s rescue with an added-time shot that cracked the crossbar.

‘There are no excuses from us. I felt as though we looked a little bit lethargic at times, we didn’t play the way we normally do.’

It has to be a one-off. There were positives for Klopp — not least the exhilarating substitute performance of Darwin Nunez, who scored one equaliser with an audacious back heel and made the other for Salah — but not enough for him to feel any real comfort.

Mo Salah scored on the opening weekend yet again to rescue a point for Liverpool on Saturday

The reason is clear: a lot was made last season about a title race that went to the wire again and how Liverpool’s failure to win any of their six matches against the other three teams in the top four cost them (they got six points from those encounters compared to the eight of champions Manchester City).

Fulham hitman Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice to stun Liverpool at Craven Cottage

That, however, is a skewed perspective.

Anything can happen in the showdown against the teams around you, what matters is winning the matches you should do. City took 18 points from 18 in six matches against the newly-promoted teams; Liverpool got 16.

So, ultimately, a 3-3 draw at Brentford last September proved decisive. Nobody knew it at the time but, had Liverpool gone on to win that night, they would have been champions come the end of the season. It is why the body language at the final whistle on Saturday was so revealing.

‘There is a lot to work on,’ Henderson said. ‘It is only the first day of the season but we wanted to start a lot better than that. There’s still a long way to go and we need to improve quickly.

‘We’ve got a decent week now to prepare for the next game, so we need to use that as much as we can.’

To go the distance, they have no other option.