Alisson: Liverpool must find 'right mindset' after Fulham draw

The Reds followed up Wednesday's impressive 2-1 Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid with a flat performance on Saturday, struggling to create enough opportunities against a Fulham side that had lost their opening three Premier League matches.

Andoni Iraola admitted fatigue played a major role, with Liverpool having had little more than 60 hours to recover from their European exertions.

"Our players were tired. We cannot hide it," the Liverpool head coach said.

"I think it's the worst turnaround in terms of 60 something hours between the games, after a very big game the other day.

"This is going to happen more times, maybe with one more day, but sometimes it's going to happen the same way during the season. We have to adapt to these circumstances."

The result means Liverpool remain unbeaten under Iraola, but three of their opening four league matches have ended in draws, leaving them with six points from a possible 12.

They have also failed to win either of their first two Premier League home matches for only the third time in 63 years.

Alisson admitted the draw was not a result Liverpool should be celebrating, despite maintaining their unbeaten record.

"We are not happy at all with the draw," he told Sky Sports. "It is not something that should happen with Liverpool.

"To be unbeaten, but with three draws, is not something to celebrate too much with this shirt."

The Brazil international believes Liverpool's ability to handle a congested fixture list could prove crucial if they are to challenge for major honours.

"Obviously, it's a big challenge to play Wednesday night and Saturday evening, and you have another game Tuesday," Alisson told the club's official website.

"But we need to get the right mentality to do that and I think it wasn't the case. We have to improve for the next one.

"This is the challenge for every big team who are playing in all competitions. If we want to do something special this season we have to cope with that."

Liverpool's attacking options, which cost close to 500 million pounds, failed to make the required impact, with Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola all starting together in the Premier League for the first time.

Isak endured another quiet afternoon, registering just 16 touches in 90 minutes, while Wirtz was unable to reproduce the influential display he produced against Atletico.

Barcola also struggled to make an impact on his full league debut.

Iraola acknowledged that Liverpool lacked their usual freshness but felt they maintained enough defensive structure to limit Fulham, who created only one clear opportunity.

"It's the first game since I'm here I think we've had problems to create chances, to score goals, to make the difference offensively," he said.

"That's the main reason that we couldn't create as many chances as we wanted."

The Liverpool boss also stressed that his side must learn to win matches even when they are not at their best.

"It's these kinds of games that you need to win; sometimes with a set play, sometimes with a shot from the edge of the box, sometimes from a moment of brilliance from the offensive players," Iraola said.

"We haven't had that today."

For Alisson, however, the answer is less about Liverpool's quality and more about ensuring they show the necessary intensity regardless of the schedule.

"The quality we have - we have so many top players - but we need to take and put more energy on the pitch for the next games," he said.

"Deep inside we have it, we just need to put it out."

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