Fulham punished a shambolic first-half performance from Liverpool to win 3-2 at Craven Cottage as Arne Slot’s leaders suffered only their second Premier League defeat of the season.
Liverpool had the chance to move 14 points clear after Arsenal’s draw with Everton but conceded three times in a calamitous 14-minute spell after Alexis Mac Allister had struck a long-range opener as the Cottagers ended their 26-game unbeaten run.
The turnaround began when Ryan Sessegnon lashed home Fulham’s leveller after a cross bounced into his path off the thigh of makeshift Liverpool right-back Curtis Jones.
It was an ugly goal to concede for Liverpool and another followed as Andrew Robertson’s woeful pass gifted Fulham possession and allowed Alex Iwobi to beat Caoimhin Kelleher via a deflection.
Liverpool were still reeling when Rodrigo Muniz added Fulham’s third goal with a cool finish past Kelleher after a brilliant piece of skill saw him flick a high ball past Virgil van Dijk on the edge of the box.
It was the first time since their 7-2 loss to Aston Villa in October 2020 that Liverpool had conceded three times in the first half of a Premier League game and they could not find a way back, despite Luis Diaz reducing the deficit from fellow substitute Conor Bradley’s pass in an improved second-half showing.
Liverpool had other chances, with an out-of-sorts Mohamed Salah blasting over from Diaz’s cross and substitute Harvey Elliott curling a shot against the bar, but Fulham were good value for the victory following back-to-back losses to Arsenal and Crystal Palace.
They move up to eighth, the win boosting their hopes of European qualification, while Liverpool remain 11 points ahead of Arsenal having missed the opportunity to take another step towards the Premier League title.
WATCH: All the goals
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Alexis Mac Allister scored a superb, long-range opener
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Ryan Sessegnon struck Fulham’s equaliser
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Alex Iwobi punished Andrew Robertson’s error for Fulham’s second
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Unbelievable goal! Rodrigo Muniz made it three
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Luis Diaz pulled a goal back for Liverpool
Slot: Errors to blame for defeat
Liverpool boss Arne Slot to Sky Sports:
“There’s always a lot of attention around Liverpool. That doesn’t start now. That’s been there the whole season.
“Of course, people want to make stories but for me it’s all about playing Fulham. They’re a good team, and if you then make three errors it’s going to be very difficult to win the game against them.
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Arne Slot believes Liverpool had themselves to blame for the defeat
“In general, we are not making many of these errors, let alone three in one game. Today, we also had (Ibrahima) Konate losing the ball too.
“The second half was so much better than the first, but it’s hard to win a game of football at this level if you concede three goals like this.
“You could feel that we were creating a lot of chances, we’ve had a few but unfortunately we lacked time in the end to score the third goal.”
Analysis: Van Dijk vulnerability exposed by Fulham
Slot came to the defence of Van Dijk in his press conference, saying any defender can have difficult moments against strikers as physical as Everton’s Beto and Fulham’s Muniz. But this was another display to show vulnerability in the 33-year-old.
Van Dijk, normally imperious, struggled to cope with Beto’s running in the 1-0 win over Everton in midweek and Muniz got the better of him too easily for the goal that proved decisive at Craven Cottage. The striker’s touch was brilliant. Van Dijk’s positioning was not.
He was not the only Liverpool defender who struggled in the game. In fact, they all did. Ibrahima Konate was mercifully substituted by Slot midway through the second half but the Liverpool boss would have been justified in taking off any one of them.
Jones could only direct Timothy Castagne’s cross into the path of Sessegnon for the opening goal and Robertson was culpable for the second, his slack pass across his own goal allowing Iwobi to score. Robertson rushed across to try and rectify his error but only ended up deflecting Iwobi’s shot beyond Kelleher.
Van Dijk’s error, getting the wrong side of Muniz and allowing him to pluck a high ball out of the sky, capped a calamitous 14-minute spell, which leaves Liverpool with work to do to get over the line. Their title is not in jeopardy but a third defeat in four games in all competitions, and more defensive shakiness from usually dependable players, is cause for concern.
Silva: First half close to perfection
Fulham boss Marco Silva to Sky Sports:
“Our first half was brilliant. I said before that perfection doesn’t exist even if you try to get it, but you have to be close to perfection and our first half was there.
“It’s not easy to start and concede a goal in the first 10 minutes. The reaction from the team was top level, to have 10 shots first half and score three goals.
“But the main thing for us was the way we pressed them from the first minute of the game. Very good, high tempo, always high energy.
“I think it was the key to us to make them uncomfortable in the game and we had some good moments on the ball as well.
“Overall I think we deserved the three points because throughout the game we were the best team on the pitch.”
