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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