Now Fulham take advantage of wretched Reds

 

Another terrible display from Liverpool at Anfield saw them enter uncharted territory in terms of successive home defeats – seven in a row – and games in which they have failed to score – Liverpool's last open-play home goal was scored by Sadio Mané against West Bromwich Albion on 27 December. A dogged and composed performance from newly promoted Fulham, barely out of the bottom three all season and, despite improvement, still a good bet to return to the Championship, meant the West Londoners fully deserved their three points.

These were secured by a 44th minute goal from Mario Lamina, crowning a first-half Fulham display that demanded they go into half time ahead. A free kick from Fulham's right, poorly defended by Andy Robertson, who headed the cross downwards to the edge of the area, where Mo Salah struggled to bring the ball under control, it bouncing off his knees, culminated with Lamina taking the chance to sneak in and strike a low shot into the back of Liverpool’s net, goalkeeper Alisson Becker’s angles again looking wrong.

In fact, Robertson, Salah, Alisson and Gini Wijnaldum were the only first teamers starting for Liverpool today. Jurgen Klopp made seven changes from the midweek loss to Chelsea, bringing in Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips at centre back, Nico Williams replaced Trent Alexander Arnold at right back, Naby Keita and James Milner joined Wijnaldum in midfield, while Diogo Jota got a start up front alongside Xherdan Shaqiri and Salah.

Still, with all these fresh legs and players fighting for their Liverpool futures, the Reds showed little intent and intensity and Fulham looked comfortable in the first half, posing the greater threat, with former Evertonian Ademola Lookman causing Nico Williams all sorts of problems down the Liverpool right.

Some huffing and puffing in the first fifteen minutes of the second half saw Jota volley spectacularly from the edge of the area after a Nico Williams pull back, only for Fulham keeper Alphonse Areloa to parry well. Reinforcements arrived when Mané came on for Wijnaldum on the 62nd minute – but the Senegalese, apart from a looping header that came off the post, didn’t make the desired impact. Alexander Arnold put in some typically dangerous-looking balls when, on the 76th minute, he came on for Nico Williams and, replacing Milner, Fabinho, playing at the tip of Liverpool’s midfield, where he should’ve been playing for the last three months had Klopp not made the catastrophic decision to deplete Liverpool’s midfield by moving him into defence to cover for injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, in his 18 minutes on the pitch hinted, with his controlled and penetrating passing, at what Liverpool have been missing and why their decline has been so precipitous. It must be every Liverpool fan’s hope that Klopp recognises the terrible mistake he has made with Fabinho and rectifies it for the rest of the season.

Now that top four and qualifying for the Champions League seems an unrealisable goal, the rest of Liverpool’s season rests on doing well in this year’s premier European tournament. The Reds go into the last of 16 game against RB Leipzig on Wednesday two goals up from the away leg and barring a disaster – which, given Liverpool’s run of form, cannot be ruled out – will qualify for the next round, not that anyone would bet on Liverpool progressing further, especially with the prospect of coming up against teams like Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and PSG, who would surely show the Reds short shrift.

Salah penalty spares Reds' blushes at Fulham

 Jürgen Klopp had warned that Fulham would be no pushovers. “They are a good-looking football team ... like their manager,” said the Liverpool manager. But Scott Parker’s side could consider themselves unlucky not to record a memorable victory in front of their returning supporters.

The champions missed the opportunity to return to the top of the table after Mohamed Salah’s penalty cancelled out Bobby Decordova-Reid’s opening goal. Liverpool had won their past 18 matches against promoted teams and knew that a second away victory of the season would be enough to see them overtake Tottenham, following their draw at Crystal Palace earlier in the day.

But in a lacklustre display against opponents who showed they have the capability to avoid relegation this time around, Klopp was relieved to see his patched-up team escape with a draw.

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Nerveless Milner rescues three points for Reds

Liverpool flirted with disaster here though, in the end, it was the manner in which they dealt with the prospect of failure that bodes well for the months ahead. Pegged back from nowhere, their dominance undone by sloppiness, they might have frozen and found their title challenge critically undermined. Instead, adversity merely re-set the focus. They would emerge victorious, restored to the summit, and with belief bolstered that the title will be theirs.

Jürgen Klopp had surveyed the scene in the period immediately after Fulham’s equaliser and, from his vantage point on the sidelines, taken heart at the resolve on display. There was no panic despite the dreadfully careless nature of the hosts’ reward, from James Milner’s slice, via Virgil van Dijk’s marginally under-hit header, to Alisson’s inability to smother the ball at Ryan Babel’s feet. It was a goal plucked from nothing, with touches from three Liverpool players between Aleksandar Mitrovic’s flick near the half-way line to Babel’s burst through the goalkeeper’s attempt at a block and almost apologetic tap into the empty net.

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Reds coast to Fulham victory

Slavisa Jokanovic wore all-black and a mood to match after a seventh consecutive defeat but this did not resemble a funeral march for the Fulham manager. Bottom of the Premier League, yes, deservedly beaten, yes; though not without handing Liverpool an unusually difficult assignment at Anfield. Victory was built on ingenuity and no little controversy for Jürgen Klopp’s contenders.

An eighth goal of the season from Mohamed Salah plus a fine finish from Xherdan Shaqiri took Liverpool back to the summit. It was the reaction their manager craved following the lame Champions League defeat at Red Star Belgrade in midweek, a fifth home league win of the campaign and the clean sheet ensured Liverpool’s meanest start to a top flight campaign – five goals conceded in 12 matches – since 1979.

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