Fulham vs Liverpool Review
Fulham came from behind to defeat Liverpool 3-2 in the Premier League, marking only their second victory in the last 16 encounters against the Reds. The Cottagers displayed determination right from the start, with Andreas Pereira forcing a mistake from Ibrahima Konaté in the box, although Rodrigo Muniz was stopped by Virgil van Dijk when the ball was played to him. However, the hosts found themselves trailing in the 14th minute when Ryan Gravenberch regained possession, and Alexis Mac Allister advanced before unleashing a stunning long-range shot that Bernd Leno couldn’t reach.
Despite the setback, Fulham kept pushing forward and were rewarded just nine minutes later. Pereira’s cross was poorly handled by Curtis Jones, allowing Ryan Sessegnon to seize the opportunity and score on his first Premier League start at Craven Cottage since May 2019. Andrew Robertson seemed to escape trouble after a careless square pass was blocked by Konaté, but his misfortune continued when he headed the ball back to Iwobi, whose shot deflected past Caoimhín Kelleher. The energetic Cottagers struck again just five minutes later, with Muniz skillfully holding off Van Dijk and controlling Iwobi’s lobbed pass before shooting through Kelleher’s legs.
After the break, Liverpool increased their urgency, but Leno quickly came out to stop Diogo Jota after Mohamed Salah had taken the ball from Calvin Bassey, and Dominik Szoboszlai’s attempt went wide. Arne Slot made a double substitution in the 55th minute, but the game’s flow remained unchanged as Robertson shot over, and a timely block from Gravenberch prevented Pereira from scoring at the other end, while Salah’s shot went over the bar. A new round of substitutions finally brought the change Liverpool needed, as Conor Bradley came on, surged forward, and set up Luis Díaz for a goal.
However, they were unable to equalize, as Harvey Elliott struck the crossbar, and both he and Federico Chiesa had their shots saved by Leno. Fulham bounced back from consecutive losses with an impressive win that keeps their hopes for a European campaign alive. Meanwhile, Liverpool is nearing their goal of clinching the Premier League title, but they will be eager to improve their inconsistent performance after losing three out of their last four matches in all competitions.
