Three first-half goals stunned the league leaders, who have lost just one Premier League match this season.
Alexis Mac Allister blasted the Reds in front after 13 minutes, driving forward before giving Bernd Leno no chance. It was all-square midway through the first half, though, with Ryan Sessegon lashing one home after a loose clearance from Curtis Jones.
Liverpool lost a bit of momentum when the equaliser flew in, and Fulham took full advantage. Alex Iwobi’s goal owed a bit to visiting defender Andy Robertson, but the former Arsenal star looked to the Gunners’ title hopes remain extremely slim rather than non-existent.
It was soon three, with Rodrigo Muniz breaking free and firing through Caoimhin Kelleher. Liverpool mixed things up after the break and had a golden chance to halve the deficit through Mohamed Salah, but the Egyptian fired high over the bar from close range.
Inside the final 20 minutes, two substitutes combined to give Liverpool hope. Conor Bradley made a smart run inside and fed Luis Diaz, who fired low beyond Leno, and Harvey Elliott was the width of a crossbar away from making it 3-3.
Liverpool had a lucky escape early on when Andreas Pereira caught Ibrahima Konate in possession and fed Muniz, but the striker couldn’t find the finish. VAR looked at Virgil van Dijk’s challenge on the Brazilian but decided there wasn’t anything worthy of a penalty, while some felt Pereira could have been given a spot-kick after being caught by Kelleher.
They looked to have taken full advantage through Mac Allister’s goal, only for Fulham to respond in a way few others have this term. Here are Mirror Football‘s talking points after a turn up for the books in West London.
1. Robertson’s woes return
His pass across the Liverpool area was sloppy enough, but he then wasted a second chance to clear his lines before deflecting Iwobi’s shot beyond Kelleher. It was part of a string of first-half defensive errors for the league leaders, but the worst of the bunch.
Noise has been ramping up around a new left-back in the summer, with Milos Kerkez looking like the most likely addition. This wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of Robertson as a long-term option at the back.
2. Mac Allister with another belter against Fulham
Back in December 2023, Alexis Mac Allister scored his first goal for Liverpool in style. His long-range looping effort helped set up a 4-3 win for the Reds, and his effort this time wasn’t too shabby either.
Once Fulham allowed the Argentina star to drive forward, they were in trouble. He took his shot early enough to catch Leno off-guard, and with enough power that you wonder if the German would have had a chance even if he knew what was coming.
The goal came almost a year to te day after a similarly powerful strike helped Liverpool beat Sheffield United at Anfield. Mac Allister isn’t a player the Reds rely on for a significant goal threat, but maybe that ought to change.
3. Muniz finishing the season strong
Rodrigo Muniz scored just four league goals in the first 26 matches of the season, with Raul Jimenez appearing to have worked his way back into Marco Silva’s favour as Fulham’s more regular starting striker. He now has four in five, though, including three in as many games against Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Last season, all nine of his league goals came in the second half of the campaign, though injury was a factor in that discrepancy. Fulham have never had multiple players hit double-figures in the Premier League in one season, but with Jimenez already on 10 – and Muniz and Iwobi now on eight apiece – it could change very soon.
Marco Silva’s men have some big tests up ahead which they’ll need to pass if they’re to secure European football. A striker in Muniz’s sort of form is exactly what they need.
4. A tale of two former wonderkids
Ryan Sessegnon is the third-youngest player to ever turn out for Fulham’s first team, having done so at the age of 16 years and 83 days back in 2016. One of the only two younger stars was also at Craven Cottage on Sunday, but in Liverpool red.
Harvey Elliott, who was still just 15 at the time of his Fulham debut, has found league minutes hard to come by this season. His introduction around the hour mark meant he was on course for his second-longest top-flight run-out under Arne Slot, having played 45 minutes against Southampton in March, and he almost broke Fulham hearts when he curled an effort against the crossbar with Leno beaten.
Sessegnon, who returned to Fulham over the summer after a spell with Tottenham, has also needed to be patient but has got his reward. The left-sided star played just five minutes before the turn of the year, but his goal against Liverpool was a third of the campaign after efforts against Wolves and Spurs.
5. Arsenal left wondering what might have been
When Liverpool responded to Arsenal’s victory over Fulham with a win of their own in the Merseyside Derby, some in North London might have mentally conceded the title. A gap of 12 points in eight matches is a tough one to overcome, after all.
A draw against Everton on Saturday was disappointing for the Gunners, but progress in Europe was seen by many as a bigger priority. Securing Champions League glory won’t be easy either, but that simply relies on Mikel Arteta’s team doing their job rather than also relying on multiple favours from elsewhere.
After watching Liverpool struggle at Craven Cottage, though, the league leaders might suddenly seem more fallible. If only Arsenal had a smaller gap to make up.
