Liverpool took their sixth home loss in a row in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon. Manager Jürgen Klopp’s team lost 0-1 at home against Fulham, who secured the victory via Mario Lemina. Liverpool will have to turn their backs soon, when the team defends a 2-0 lead against RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday. The defeat keeps Liverpool in seventh place, while Fulham goes on the hunt for straight life preservation. Scott Parker’s team will then have to rise at least one place, as they are now still eighteenth.
Liverpool started with a completely different team than with which it appeared at the kick-off in recent weeks. Klopp gave Fabinho, Thiago Alcántara, Sadio Mané, Curtis Jones and Trent Alexander-Arnold a rest and had, among other things, made a starting place for Diogo Jota. The attacker had been struggling with a knee injury in recent months and was last kicked off in the Champions League match with Midtjylland (1-1) on December 9. Georginio Wijnaldum was pulled over half an hour before time. At Fulham, Kenny Tete played the entire game and Terence Kongolo stayed on the bench.
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The home team had a hard time in the first half and had to watch as Fulham became dangerous for the first time. Ademola Lookman pulled in from the left and tried with a shot into the short corner, but saw his bet go just wide. On the other hand, Mohamed Salah was put in position, but he was also inaccurate in the conclusion. After Lookman again failed to score with a shot from close range, Mario Lemina managed to outwit Alisson Becker. The midfielder reacted much more attentively than Salah after a corner kick that was turned off and shot hard and low into the far corner: 0-1. With that, Liverpool fell behind in the Premier League for the first time in club history in six consecutive home games.
The home team made very little difference before the break and was quite disappointing in possession of the ball. After the break, the game barely changed and Liverpool was unable to make a fist. Klopp then brought in Mané after an hour of play, who was close to the equalizer not much later. The Senegalese accidentally got the ball in his feet after a passed corner kick, but was unable to print. A header from the same Mané ended up on the post twenty minutes before the end. Fulham, who appeared in front of Alisson’s goal only one more time in the second half, successfully defended the lead and thus won for the second time ever at Anfield.