Aleksandar Mitrovic’s brace of goals was cancelled out by strikes from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah as newly promoted Fulham held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw in the sides’ opening game of the Premier League season at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
The home side took the lead on 32 minutes when they broke down the right, and Kenny Tete’s cross was met by the bustling Mitrovic, who outjumped Trent Alexander-Arnold at the far post to head home.
Runners-up last term, Liverpool struggled to deal with Fulham’s physicality but their fortunes turned with the introduction of Nunez in the second half, and he levelled with a brilliant flicked finish just after the hour mark.Despite having barely threatened after the break, Fulham were soon back in front as Mitrovic, who scored 43 goals in 44 Championship games last season, was tripped in the box by Virgil van Dijk, and the striker stepped up to stroke home the spot kick to make it 2-1.
However, Liverpool refused to capitulate and Salah put them level again, poking home from close range. Jordan Henderson almost grabbed all three points but his shot came back off the crossbar.
“You can’t always hug the boys — we do that usually when they deserve it,” a frustrated Klopp told broadcaster BT Sport. “You start the game in a specific way which was the opposite to how we wanted to start — really, completely opposite.”
Debutants shine
Arsenal’s debutants paved the way for a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace on the opening night on Friday and coach Mikel Arteta said there might be some more new faces coming in before the end of the transfer window.
Gabriel Martinelli’s first-half strike and a second-half own goal by Marc Guehi gave the visitors the three points but the new signings played a big part in the victory.
Brazil’s striker Gabriel Jesus and Ukraine defender Oleksandr Zinchenko made their debuts after arriving from Manchester City in the close season, with the former a constant threat.
Tottenham Hotspur underlined their credentials as a team capable of a Premier League title challenge with a confident 4-1 defeat of Southampton to get their campaign up and running on Saturday.
The hosts fell behind to a James Ward-Prowse volley in the 12th minute but dominated throughout with goals by Ryan Sessegnon, Eric Dier and Dejan Kulusevski sealing the win.
At Elland Road, an own goal by defender Rayan AitNouri gave Leeds United a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
