Liverpool moved up to 2nd in the Premier League after their impressive 3-1 away win at Fulham
Following an atrocious week at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp’s team looked to regain the form that had got them into a title race in the first place. A 1-0 win in Bergamo wasn’t enough to go through to the semi-final which meant all of the focus shifted to the Premier League.
Six games left. And six wins would guarantee nothing but a total of 89 points. An incredible points tally given where Liverpool were last season. An incredible points tally that still may not be enough to win the title.
Fulham had guaranteed their safety and their place in a third consecutive Premier League season with a 2-0 win away at West Ham United. A win for Liverpool at Craven Cottage would move them up to 2nd in the league, level on points with league-leaders Arsenal.
Craven Cottage has proved to be a difficult place for Liverpool to get points from in recent years, with Liverpool’s last win at the Cottage coming in 2019, courtesy of a late James Milner penalty.
Liverpool’s right-back magician opened the scoring in the Capital as Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick flew into the top left corner, evading Bernd Leno in goal. Unlike earlier this season when his free-kick deflected off of the German ‘keeper, this one was most definitely his goal.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, they decided to make things more difficult for them by conceding a goal moments before half-time. Following poor defending, Timothy Castagne scored his first goal in Fulham white with a side-footed effort that beat Alisson.
With the scoreline level at the interval, concerns were growing in the away end that Liverpool’s title fight was about to fizzle out in front of them. After last week’s slip up against Crystal Palace, all six games were absolutely must win.
And it didn’t take long for an unlikely hero to fire them back in front. Ryan Gravenberch picked the ball up on the edge of the box and curled a beautiful strike into the back of the net, kissing the woodwork on its way in.
Extending their lead has been something Liverpool have certainly struggled with this season, so a 2-1 lead was by no means a done deal for Klopp’s side. Luckily, he had Diogo Jota back in his team.
The Portuguese forward wrapped up the win, moving Liverpool up to 2nd place in the Premier League. It was a typical, tight-angled strike from Jota that beat Leno, sending the away end (and some of the home end as well) into raptures.
Liverpool now have just five matches left of this season. Five matches left under Jurgen Klopp. And with a title still in sight, they must win all of their remaining games to even have a sniff at it.
Liverpool are now on 74 points, and have almost guaranteed their place in next season’s UEFA Champions League – an incredible achievement in itself that goes under the radar when there’s pressure of a title race.
The next challenge for the Reds is a trip to Goodison Park to play in Klopp’s final ever Merseyside derby. These next few weeks could be the most incredible under Klopp, they could also induce the most heartache. Fine margins.
Kick-off in the Merseyside derby is 8pm on Wednesday, 24 April.
Fulham team: Leno, Castagne, Adarabioyo, Bassey, Robinson, Palhinha (Cairney 71), Lukic, De Cordova-Reid (Wilson 71), Pereira, Iwobi (Traore 85), Muniz.
Liverpool team: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold (Gomez 80), Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson, Elliott, Endo, Gravenberch (Mac Allister 74), Gakpo (Szoboszlai 84), Jota (Nunez 74), Diaz (Salah 74).
Read More Liverpool Coverage:
- Atalanta 0-1 Liverpool (3-1 agg): Reds knocked out of Europa League despite away win
- Liverpool 0-1 Crystal Palace: Title ambitions dealt huge blow as Eagles snatch win at Anfield
- Liverpool 0-3 Atalanta: La Dea run riot at Anfield in Europa League first leg
- Manchester United 2-2 Liverpool: Honours even in crazy Old Trafford clash
- Liverpool 3-1 Sheffield United: Mac Allister wonder-strike keeps title dream alive