Fulham delay title party for out-of-sorts Liverpool
Liverpool manager Arne Slot acknowledges the crowd at the final whistle at Craven Cottage.
"It wasn't 45 minutes of disaster," Arne Slot insisted and he was right - it was 14 actually. Three highly-avoidable first-half goals culminated in Liverpool's first Premier League away defeat this season and only the second overall but the title-winning celebrations have merely been slightly delayed.
An 11-point advantage with seven games left remains insurmountable for any challengers, especially when Arsenal have Real Madrid and the Champions League on their minds right now.
It was an extraordinarily duff performance at the back from champions-elect however with even the normally peerless Virgil van Dijk made to look lower league for one of the goals.
Andy Robertson and Curtis Jones were each culpable for the other two but although a second-half revival did not see a comeback completed it was nonetheless a reminder that a side that posts a 26-game unbeaten run generally deserves to come out on top.
Strangely, Slot was keen to point out that the Liverpool of 2024-25 is nowhere near the standards set by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City despite the size of that points barrier.
"There's no reason for us to be complacent, we are not No 1 at the moment because we win every match by three or four goals," he said.
"It takes us so much hard work to win the games, and everyone can see that. The team that won the league the last four seasons was 3-0 up at half-time almost every game."
Fulham could have been forgiven for thinking it wasn't going to be their day when they were denied a stonewall penalty early on - or two even.
Ibrahima Konate's over-confidence saw him robbed box in the box by Andreas Pereira - who was wiped out by Caoimhin Kelleher in the act of setting up Muniz for a shot. Muniz sliced that horribly - but only because van Dijk was milliseconds away from bodychecking him. VAR considered both challenges, the Premier League confirmed, but bizarrely no spot-kick ensued.
Liverpool's response was to take the lead with the game's first shot on target. And what a shot it was. Alexis Mac Allister shrugged off Alex Iwobi and then Sander Berge before launching a rising rocket from 20 yards.
The away end's high spirits were doused by more defensive blundering however - and this time there was to be no reprieve.
A Berge burst forward saw Pereira cross from the right - and Jones, filling in at right-back for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, skewed a clearance straight to Ryan Sessegnon, who rifled in first time.
Fulham took the lead through Iwobi as another Liverpool defender lost the plot. Andy Robertson needlessly passed across his own goal to Iwobi, whose first shot was blocked. The follow-up went in off Robertson's chest.
Not even the great van Dijk could lead by example as Fulham took a deserved 3-1 lead. Iwobi sliced a half-cleared corner high into the air and Muniz bamboozled the Dutchman with a sublime first touch before slotting across Kelleher.
It was a touch that was positively Bergkampian and not the first time that van Dijk had been made to look ordinary in recent weeks.
"I still see a lot of things that Virgil does really well, but if you play 50-60 games a season, there will be moments, even for him, where you could have done better," was Slot's verdict.
Liverpool had a point to prove and the second period began with Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno denying Diogo Jota before Mo Salah, who was only occasionally in the game, ballooned a decent chance over from almost as close range.
A second Liverpool goal was coming though and Luis Diaz scored it, slotting home in the 72nd minute after fellow sub Conor Bradley had surged forward and played him in.
Fulham nerves jangled noisily but although Diaz's dive to win a penalty did not fool referee Chris Kavanagh it was a constant onslaught until the final whistle.
Fulham fans celebrated as though it had been a cup final victory, something the Cottagers might actually have achieved this term had they not flopped so badly against Crystal Palace in the last eight of the FA Cup last month.
Still, European football remains a distinct possibility for Marco Silva's side. It might even be the Champions League, although the traffic in front of them is heavy.
"It has been a great season for this club but in some important moments we haven't been at our best overall, like last Saturday," Silva said.
"It was a great reaction. To react and score three goals in the first 45 minutes - and show the resilience in the second half, what a way to bounce back."
): Leno 7; Castagne 6, Andersen 7, Bassey 7, Robinson 7; Berge 7, Lukic 6 (Reed 76, 3); Sessegnon 7 (Traore 82, 3), Pereira 7 (Smith Rowe 76, 4), Iwobi 7 (Tete 82, 3); Muniz 7 (Jimenez 77, 4).
Subs: Benda, Cuenca, Cairney, Willian.
: Kelleher 6; Jones 6, Konate 5 (Bradley 67, 6), Van Dijk 6, Robertson 6 (Chiesa 83, 3); Gravenberch 6, Mac Allister 7; Salah 5; Szoboszlai 5 (Elliott 55, 4), Gakpo 5 (Diaz 55, 6)' Jota 5 (Nunez 67, 4).
Subs: Jaros, Endo, Tsimikas, Quansah.
: Chris Kavanagh 6
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