sport news DOMINIC KING: Draw already feels like end of the world for Klopp after dropping ... trends now
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.
Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool endured a difficult start to the season with a 2-2 draw at Fulham
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
