Reed the left-field saviour as thunderous strike ensures parity for Fulham against champions
- By Yann Tear at Craven Cottage
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
Premier League
Fulham (1) 2 Wilson 17, Reed 97
Liverpool (0) 2 Wirtz 57, Gakpo 94
He was never the most prolific of goalscorers. And these days he hardly gets any minutes on the pitch. But Harrison Reed made full use of the five minutes he was given by Marco Silva to crash in a point-saving worldie.
So often it is Harry Wilson who comes up with the spectacular. This time it was Reed. He only came on for Sasa Lukic in the 92nd minute - just in time to see Cody Gakpo plunder what appeared to be an injury-time winner for the Merseysiders.
Reed was wide on the left and a good 25 yards out when he unleashed his howitzer. It flew into the far top corner out of Alisson's reach and ensured the Whites extended their unbeaten run to five games.
Reed was in danger of being the forgotten man at Craven Cottage. He has only made three sub appearances in the Premier League and his only starts have come in the League Cup. It was his first goal since a 3-1 win at Everton in April 2023 and first at the Cottage since a 3-0 win against Aston Villa in October 2022.
This was some way to remind fans that he is still out there.
That late leveller was richly deserved. Wilson gave Fulham a half-time lead that was fully merited. They had reduced Liverpool to a plodding outfit, unable to make any impression on a disciplined Whites formation.
Wilson's strike against his former club came after he latched onto a first-time ball round the corner from Raul Jimenez. It was originally flagged offside but VAR confirmed Virgil van Dijk had played him onside.
The same scenario happened when Florian Wirtz angled home a shot during a second half in which the Reds were vastly improved Conor Bradley's mazy run doing the damage It was also wrongly flagged, with VAR deciding Issa Diop's toe had just about come to Wirtz's recue.
Wilson came close to scoring his second of the might before the injury time fireworks when Alison spilled a ball as he rushed from his line to clear, with Jimenez in close attendance.
Wilson's lob looked true but it pinged back off the crossbar. Tonight, a different Fulham player was destined to grab the headlines.
Whites: (3-4-2-1) Leno - Diop, Andersen, Cuenca - Castagne, Lukic (Reed 92), Cairney (Berge 73), Robinson - Wilson (Traore 71), Smith Rowe (Kevin 73) - Jimenez (Kusi-Asare 85)
Reds: (4-2-3-1) Alisson - Bradley, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez - Gravenberch, Mac Allister - Szoboszlai, Wirtz (Frimpong 76), Jones (Chiesa 85) - Gakpo (Gomez 96)
Attendance: 27,547
