On a sunny afternoon at Craven Cottage, Fulham inflicted Liverpool’s first defeat away from home in the Premier League this season.
After a stunning strike from Alexis Mac Allister gave the visitors the lead, Fulham capitalised on a series of catastrophic errors from Arne Slot’s side, with three goals in 15 minutes from Ryan Sessegnon, Alex Iwobi and Rodrigo Muniz handing the Cottagers a surprise lead heading into the break.
In the second half, the Reds desperately sought to complete a comeback of their own but could only muster a single goal courtesy of substitute Luis Díaz.
Embed from Getty ImagesAs it happened
It was an afternoon to forget for Arne Slot’s side as a catalogue of mistakes saw them concede three goals in a half for the first time since their 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa in October 2020.
Liverpool’s sloppy nature was apparent inside 4 minutes, when Ibrahima Konaté was caught on the ball and dispossessed in his own penalty area by Andreas Pereira. The Brazilian opted to square it to Rodrigo Muniz but he couldn’t tap it home after colliding with Virgil van Dijk, who was judged not to have fouled the Fulham striker.
Despite a careless start to the match, it was the away side who took the lead in the 14th minute thanks to a wonder strike from Alexis Mac Allister. After Ryan Gravenberch’s initial challenge, Mac Allister picked up the ball inside Fulham’s half, brushed off a challenge from Sander Berge and smashed in a well-struck effort from distance.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt took just less than ten minutes for Marco Silva’s side to get themselves back into the match. Curtis Jones, filling in at right-back again, failed to deal with Pereira’s cross and the ball fell invitingly for Ryan Sessegnon. On his first home start in the league this season, Sessegnon fired a first time effort into the bottom corner for his third goal in five Premier League matches.
The Cottagers took the lead in the 32nd minute after a period of play to forget for Andy Robertson. Typifying Liverpool’s shaky start, the Scotsman had an attempted cross-field switch intercepted by Alex Iwobi – he drove into the box and got a shot off at goal that deflected off Robertson and past a helpless Caoimhin Kelleher.
The home side doubled their lead just five minutes later thanks to a brilliant piece of skill from Rodrigo Muniz. The Reds had initially cleared Fulham’s corner but Iwobi shanked it back into a dangerous area. Muniz delightfully brought the ball down, nudging van Dijk in the process, and expertly finished it through the legs of Kelleher.
Embed from Getty ImagesLiverpool needed an instant response after the break and almost got one through Diogo Jota. Mohamed Salah stole the ball and found the Portuguese forward in behind the Fulham defence, but his effort at goal was superbly saved by an onrushing Bernd Leno.
Th Reds continued to push for a way back into the match and came close again in the 64th minute. Substitute Luis Díaz found Salah in the box with a pinpoint cross, but the Egyptian, with only his second touch in the box, sent his first time effort over the bar.
Eventually, the league leaders managed to halve their deficit. Conor Bradley picked up the ball in the middle of the pitch and found Díaz in the box, who poked an effort past Leno for his tenth league goal of the season.
Embed from Getty ImagesWith a first league defeat in 27 games looming, Arne Slot risked it all by sending on Harvey Elliott, Darwin Núñez and Federico Chiesa in the hope that they could rescue a point for the away side. It almost paid off for the Dutch manager when Robertson’s flashed ball across the box found Elliott, but his curling effort rattled the crossbar to deny Liverpool an equaliser.
In injury time, Leno ensured Fulham won all three points. After holding onto to Chiesa’s powerful shot a minute before, the German goalkeeper comfortably saved Elliott’s tame effort to seal the Cottagers’ first win at home over Liverpool since 2011.
Despite the disappointing result, Liverpool still hold an 11-point advantage over Arsenal, who only managed to take a point away from Goodison Park yesterday. The Reds take on West Ham next Sunday as they will look to bounce back and march onto a second title in 35 years. Fulham, meanwhile, are up to 8th in the league and face a tricky trip to Bournemouth next Monday.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe lineups
FUL: Leno; Robinson, Bassey, Andersen, Castagne; Berge, Lukić; Iwobi, Pereira, Sessegnon; Muniz
LIV: Kelleger; Roberston, Van Dijk, Konaté, Jones; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Gakpo, Szboszlai, Salah; Jota
