Liverpool's Unbeaten Streak Masks Troubling Inconsistency as Reed's Screamer Denies Gakpo Glory

Liverpool's remarkable escape from crisis continues, but the veneer is starting to crack.

The Reds stretched their unbeaten sequence to nine matches following Sunday's draw at Craven Cottage, hauling themselves clear of sixth place in the process. For a club that looked rudderless not long ago, this represents solid progress. Yet beneath the surface, the performances tell a different story entirely.

Of those nine games without defeat, eight have come in the Premier League—and therein lies the problem. Four of them finished level, including three against freshly promoted opposition in Sunderland and Leeds United, with Fulham providing the latest stalemate. Only a pair of victories exceeded a one-goal margin, while Liverpool's two single-goal wins came in distinctly uncomfortable circumstances: at home against Wolves and away at a Spurs side boasting just two home wins from ten league outings.

The narrative is inescapable: there remains considerable work ahead. This week's visit to Arsenal, currently perched atop the table, will prove far more revealing than the relatively kind fixture list that got Liverpool here.

Fulham, much like West Ham in the opening game of this unbeaten run, showed excessive deference to the champions. Liverpool deployed Cody Gakpo as a makeshift frontman, ostensibly to prevent his habitual cutting inside and wayward shooting, whilst also attempting to curtail his tendency to leave Milos Kerkez stranded on the left flank.

Without Hugo Ekitike in the starting lineup, the mood among supporters was already subdued. Gakpo's season-long struggles crystallized in one moment: a poor contact that rolled past the post from a position brimming with opportunity. Five minutes later, former Liverpool winger Harry Wilson punished identical real estate at the opposite end with a clinical finish—a contrast that made for uncomfortable viewing.

Brief respite arrived when Gakpo got on the end of a Jeremie Frimpong delivery that Joachim Andersen handled poorly, directing the ball home via his thigh in the fifth minute of stoppage time. The celebrations were premature. Harrison Reed then delivered a moment of pure brilliance, striking from distance in a manner that silenced the narrative entirely.

This was no whitewash masking deeper defects. Fulham demonstrated they possessed sufficient quality to trouble Liverpool, yet needed one-in-a-million execution from their late substitute to claim a point.

The positives do exist, albeit sparingly. Florian Wirtz has been among them, adding another goal and securing his first away Premier League strike. Carragher had previously highlighted his recent showings as Liverpool's standout contribution. That may be generous, though "improving" sits closer to the mark.

Wirtz is reaching dangerous areas and executing the right movements, displaying flashes of the calibre expected from a £100m signing. Still, he currently falls short of the player Liverpool envisioned acquiring. His progression depends on Slot continuing to deploy him across the front three rather than deep, though uncertainty surrounds who occupies the central striker role when the Reds head to north London.

Even with a goal at Fulham, Gakpo has not made a convincing case for that position long-term.

The Arsenal test arrives Thursday, and it will provide genuine clarity on whether Liverpool have genuinely turned the corner or merely navigated a favourable sequence. Nine games unbeaten sounds impressive. How they got there tells a rather different tale.