Klopp seeking answers after Liverpool held on opening day
JURGEN KLOPP was left disappointed as his Liverpool side after the title hopefuls were held to a 2-2 draw with newlypromoted Fulham at Craven Cottage in their Premier League curtain-raiser.
Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, whose 43 goals helped deliver the Sky Bet Championship crown, broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute when he headed past Alisson Becker.
Liverpool’s club-record £85million summer signing Darwin Nunez hauled the Reds level with an improvised backheel just after the hour mark, only for Mitrovic to put Fulham back in front from the penalty sport in the 72nd minute. But with 10 minutes left, Mohamed Salah slotted in after being set up by Nunez to secure Jurgen Klopp’s side a first point in their quest to wrestle the title from rivals Manchester City.
“I feel much more responsible for defeats than when we win, so that’s unfortunate,” Klopp said. “The result is not a defeat but the performance was a defeat.
“So that’s why we have to figure out what happened. That’s not us today. But we don’t want to take anything away from Fulham, they did really well.”
Klopp’s opposite number, Fulham manager Marco Silva, was delighted with his team’s display.
“I think that our players deserve something more than just one point,” he said.
“They had more control of the game, but I think that our organisation, our great first half, the way we blocked almost everything from them, in terms of organisation in the first half – it was almost perfect.
“In terms of intensity the first half was really good and I have to congratulate our players and our fans as well.”
Nottingham Forest suffered a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle in their first Premier League game in 23 years. Forest, promoted via the play-offs, had brought in 12 players to bolster Steve Cooper’s squad and held out during a goalless first half at St James’ Park.
The deadlock, though, was finally broken just before the hour through when defender Fabian Schar crashed a 20yard effort in off the post after Forest failed to clear a corner. Newcastle added a second with 12 minutes left when Callum Wilson flicked in a low cross from Joelinton.
Tottenham came from behind to beat Southampton 4-1. Saints captain James Ward-Prowse had silenced the home crowd when he opened the scoring in the 12th minute.
Spurs, though, were soon back on level terms when Ryan Sessegnon headed in and Eric Dier nodded home a second following a corner as the hosts completed the turnaround before half-time.
Just after the hour, Southampton defender Mohammed Salisu scuffed a cross from Son Heung-min into his own net, then the impressive Dejan Kulusevski swiftly added a fourth for Spurs in the 63rd minute.
Promoted Bournemouth, back in the top flight after two seasons in the Championship, opened the campaign with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa at the Vitality Stadium. The Cherries took the lead inside two minutes when Colombia midfielder Jefferson Lerma drilled home following a corner and Kieffer Moore headed in a late second to wrap up the points.
Leeds got their season up and running after recovering to beat Wolves 2-1 at Elland Road. Daniel Podence had fired the visitors into a sixth-minute lead when his volley flew in off the underside of the crossbar. Leeds were back on level terms in the 24th minute through an angled drive from Rodrigo. With 16 minutes left, Patrick Bamford’s cross was turned into his own goal by Wolves defender Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Yesterday’s late game saw Chelsea win 1-0 at Everton through a penalty from Jorginho. The visitors broke the deadlock just before the end of the first half after Abdoulaye Doucoure fouled Ben Chilwell and Jorginho scored from the spot.
Everton saw defender Yerry Mina forced off by injury during the second half while Chelsea sent on Marc Cucurella, who completed his £63m move from Brighton on Friday.
I feel much more responsible for defeats than when we win. We have to figure out what happened. That’s not us today