Fulham 1-2 Liverpool - The Reds move back to the top despite late stumble! - Match Review

Liverpool managed to cap off their great week with another victory giving them 76 points and sees them move ahead of rivals Manchester City into first place. City do have a game in hand but with the international break, Liverpool will be able to enjoy a couple of weeks at the top before City are able to try and reclaim the position.

Jurgen Klopp didn't deal any surprises with his team selection and went with the same starting line up which had previously won against Burnley, with his regular back 5 and front 3 and a midfield of Fabinho, Wijnaldum and Lallana. Scott Parker switched things up quite a bit in the hopes of ending the run of losing games, he made 4 changes to his line-up bringing in Ayite. Zambo Anguissa, Seri and Forsu-Mensah while he switched Chambers from midfield back into his more favoured position in central defence. Fulham set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with top scorer Mitrovic up front hoping to get support on the wings from Ayite and former Liverpool winger Ryan Babel.

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On paper, it was set up to be an easy game for Liverpool, chasing the title with two of the league's top goalscorers and the best defence coming up against a team struggling for their survival in 19th place with the leagues worst defence. Mo Salah hadn't scored in six games coming into this and it was hoped this would be the day he could end that run. He had a chance within the opening 3 minutes from inside the 18-yard box but hit his shot wide. The early signs were promising though, there seemed to be plenty of space for Liverpool's fullbacks to exploit and they came close to scoring again within the first 10 minutes after a long ball forward from Matip sent Robertson off, the left-back carried the ball into the box and tried to pick out Firmino but his low cross was too close to the goalkeeper.

With 25 minutes played Liverpool eventually opened the deadlock with a fine strike from the man in form Sadio Mane. Yet again Liverpool attacked down the left wing with Robertson playing it to Mane who then brought the ball into the Fulham penalty area. Forsu-Mensah stood off allowing Mane to hold the ball while Roberto Firmino made a run towards the byline where he received it from Mane. The Brazilian collected it right on the line then cut it back into the middle where Mane had now arrived to smash the ball into the back of the net and make it 1-0. It was an incredible team goal and an excellent finish from Mane who continues his hot streak scoring his 10th goal in 10 games joining Salah as Liverpool's joint top scorer in the league each with 17.

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There were more chances to score throughout the half, Mo Salah took on a shot from long range which was saved by Rico but then the Fulham keeper almost spilt it to the feet of Virgil van Dijk for a tap in but he managed to regather it in time. Andy Robertson came close also, he carried the ball into a similar area to the chance he almost created earlier but this time took the shot on but was also denied by Rico meaning the scoreline remained 1-0 as the referee blew for half time.

Liverpool came out strong in the second half and seemed eager to press for another goal, within the opening minutes they created several chances with Wijnaldum and Van Dijk both coming close with headed efforts and Robertson almost picking Firmino out at the far post but for a last-second deflection sending the ball out for a corner. Around the hour mark, the tide started to turn and Fulham began to get more opportunities. Following an attack, they did end up with the ball in the back of the net after Anguissa took a punt from outside the box, on its way to goal it struck Ayita on the head re-directing it into the opposite corner from where it was heading leaving Alisson helpless however the linesman's flag went up right away and the goal was ruled offside.

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Moments later Ryan Babel came into the centre and played a killer pass sending Mitrovic through but the Serbian couldn't quite get onto it before Alisson came off his line to clear it away. Klopp had seen enough and decided to act by making a double change with Lallana and Firmino coming off in place of Milner and Origi. Milner later revealed in his post-match interview he'd been sent on with instructions from Klopp to calm things down. Milner came onto the pitch and made an immediate impact but sadly not the way Klopp had intended, the ball was played upfield and Wijnaldum won the header playing it back towards Milner who then attempted to clear it. He failed to connect cleanly and instead sliced the ball sending it back towards his own goal instead. This lead to confusion between Virgil van Dijk and Alisson, the defender seemed to signal for his keeper to remain on his line but then headed a soft pass back for him that would have required him being further off his line in order to clear, amongst the confusion was the red-haired Ryan Babel who found the ball falling to his feet with an unguarded net for him to tap the ball into to bring the scoreline back level at 1-1.

The scoreline did not stay level for too long though as just 5 minutes later Liverpool would restore their lead. James Milner floated a ball into the box which was collected on the far side by Mo Salah, he took a couple of touches to bring it down and set himself then hit a well-struck shot at goal but it was straight at Rico who saved it. The Fulham goalkeeper, however, didn't manage to keep hold of the ball though and seemed to panic as Sadio Mane tried to pounce on the chance and Rico wrapped his arm around the Liverpool player stopping him from getting to the ball. It wasn't the most convincing shout for a penalty but the referee blew his whistle and gave Liverpool the chance to take the lead from the spot, James Milner stepped up and struck the ball right down the middle and into the net to put Liverpool back in front at 2-1.

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Liverpool ended the game the stronger with multiple chances to extend their lead, Wijnaldum came close with a long-range shot but the most glorious chance came to Salah who was played in by Mane following a counter-attack. It seemed a certain goal but Salah hit it right at Rico unable to end his goalless streak. With minutes left he was subbed off in place of Sturridge and while he had another disappointing game in front of goal it has to be said his overall play was actually quite good. There were a few occasions when Fulham was on the front foot that Salah tacked back running the entire length of the pitch to help defend and it was his shot which leads to the actions for the penalty so I don't believe there is any cause for Klopp to leave him out and it is surely just a matter of time before he gets back amongst the goals once again.

It may not have been the easy high-scoring victory some fans were expecting but as always the most important thing for Liverpool was getting the victory and the 3 points. With just 7 games remaining they are top of the league and could end on 97 points, just 3 short of City's record-breaking season last year. The league takes a break for the international fixtures and Liverpool aren't back in action until the end of the month when they take on Tottenham at Anfield.