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Mario Lemina’s goal in the first half was enough to earn Fulham three vital points, as they further exacerbate Liverpool’s misery.
Just when Jurgen Klopp thought things couldn’t get any worse, after Thursday’s loss to Chelsea yielded an unwanted club record, they did when he experienced his first loss against a promoted team that consigned the Reds to a sixth loss. consecutive at home.
The same goes for Mohamed Salah. There had been a lot of talk about his reaction to being substituted in the middle of the week, so what he really needed to do was lead from the front, having handed him the role of center forward.
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What it definitely didn’t need was to be the reason Liverpool conceded the first goal for the sixth straight game at Anfield, their loss of possession on the edge of their own box allowing Lemina to finish brilliantly just before the break.
The Gabonese midfielder became the first Fulham player to score against Liverpool at Anfield since Collins John in March 2006, when he won his first match on the field since 2012, which that day was courtesy of an own goal by Martin Skrtel.
It meant that Fulham’s resurgence, having lost only once in the last seven, is only in the bottom three by virtue of having a goal difference three worse than Brighton.
That is what it means! 💪#LIVE pic.twitter.com/XPVBRPWO8h
– Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) March 7, 2021
Liverpool are still four points behind the top four and are likely to be further adrift when they run out of the Champions League round of 16 second leg against RB Leipzig on Wednesday, a match that has taken on a lot. more importance even though they have a second leg. 2-0 lead.
Klopp’s seven changes, including three of his four defenders, with that in mind, were the most among Premier League games since the 2015-16 season, with the inexperienced pairing of Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams the 16th. Different combination of central defense that has started in 28 league games.
It was perhaps not surprising that his first-half performance was disjointed, although he managed twice as many shots on goal (two) in the first half hour as they did in the entirety of Thursday’s loss to Chelsea.
Even with Salah, Diogo Jota, making his first start since December after a knee injury, and Xherdan Shaqiri completing a new line of attack, they still didn’t seem to score.
Fulham, however, frequently made Ademola Lookman a threat cutting from the flank as the visitors used a quick right-to-left diagonal to expose young winger Neco Williams and the space between him and Phillips.
After Josh Maja hooked wide, Lookman ran twice before making his way into the penalty area to shoot, as Fulham looked to continue the tactic that Thomas Tuchel’s team had been successful with.
Maja was also denied by Alisson Becker throwing himself at his feet to avoid a certain goal from close range.
The closest Liverpool came was Shaqiri’s free-kick landing on the roof of the net with Salah’s first touch that disappointed him when the Swiss international intercepted him earlier.
If that was bad, his hesitation in possession when Ivan Cavaleiro’s free kick was half-cleared was fatal.
Lemina quickly closed out the Egyptian international and magnificently seized his opportunity with a low shot through Alisson and into the far post.
The same 11 players were dispatched early for the second half, the start of which was accompanied by the low hum of an airplane waving the sign ‘Unity is strength. Let’s go to the reds. YNWA ‘up, and three minutes on Jota’s stinging volley produced a brilliant save from Alphonse Areola.
Klopp’s first change had to be attacking and saw Sadio Mane replace midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum.
The forward was not quick enough to react when Shaqiri’s corner fell to his feet shortly after arriving, but he approached with a header that crashed into the post, badly hitting another, this one from a substitute Trent Alexander’s cross. Arnold, get on the ground. .
There was an air of desperation in the final 10 minutes with Liverpool effectively 2-2-4-2 attacking, but it made little difference.
A sixth home game in the last eight ended goalless for them and in celebration for their opponents.
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