Liverpool fans saw a new superstar born against Fulham despite disappointing draw
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Liverpool supporters had very little to shout about on Saturday after watching their team largely dominated by Alvaro Arbeloa’s Fulham at Anfield.The Reds were lucky to escape with a 0-0 draw, and their failure to win means they are yet to take three points on home soil in the Premier League this season.There were plenty of negative points to mull over after the final whistle, and after feeling like a corner had been turned following back-to-back wins, fans are now concerned that things will take much longer to turn around. While he has settled straight into Liverpool‘s starting XI alongside Virgil van Dijk, the Frenchman outshone his veteran partner on Saturday, and truly announced himself as a potential defensive superstar in the making.Jeremy Jacquet was superb against FulhamJacquet has looked every bit as good as he was billed to be following his £60m signing from Rennes last January, and has completely made the right centre-back spot his own.If Wednesday had been his best performance so far, though, the No.
5 eclipsed it at the weekend, saving Liverpool on numerous occasions.Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty ImagesREAD MORE: Steve Nicol details how Liverpool can set up without Florian Wirtz to help Alexander IsakHis best moment came early in the first-half, after Alisson Becker needlessly gifted Fulham the ball inside his own penalty area. Had he not been there to block Garcia’s shot, Fulham would have scored, and likely won the game.But that was not the only time Jacquet stood out, and it was notable that with 96, the 21-year-old had the most touches out of any player on the pitch.Winning duels is a big part of what Andoni Iraola demands from his players, and though Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai failed to do their jobs in the midfield, Jacquet dominated in this respect.The young defender won three of his four ground duels and impressively came out on top of all five he contested in the air.He made one excellent tackle to stop Fulham from going clean through in the second-half, and even managed to complete his only attempted dribble of the game as he dropped the shoulder to set Liverpool off on an attack.Jacquet was statistically the second fastest player on the pitch – after Fulham’s Garcia – and the fastest Liverpool player after registering a top speed of 34.6km/h.
What do you think Liverpool should do with Alexis Mac Allister’s contract? Photo Credit: Getty Images/Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar There will be some dips in Jacquet’s debut year at Liverpool, even if he looks like a Rolls-Royce for now, but even if he does begin to fade a little, fans should have seen enough already to know that they have a top, top player on their hands.The concern for years has been one of how Liverpool would manage to move on from Van Dijk, and though supporters will hope that a new contract is in the works for their captain, Jacquet is showing that he is very much the man who will eventually take the mantle.