A late Liverpool penalty rescued the club from an embarrassing defeat at Craven Cottage as they continued their poor form versus bottom of the table teams.
Before this match, Liverpool had scraped a 2-1 win over a winless Sheffield United, and two weeks ago only managed a 1-1 draw away to Brighton.
This week, coming off a 4-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, Liverpool were expected to claim three points.
However, it did not take long for that confidence in the Reds to dissipate. The sloppy play began quickly for Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp urging his side to wake up from the touchline, and quick reactions from Alisson Becker proved the only thing preventing Fulham from taking the lead multiple times within 15 minutes of kick-off.
The first controversy came just minutes later, as Fabinho made an aggressive play on the ball, appearing to take out Ivan Cavaleiro in the penalty area.
However, after reviewing the challenge, referee Andre Marriner stuck with his decision of no penalty – a decision which Fulham boss Scott Parker made clear he strongly disagreed with, stating: “For me this is not one we need to discuss, it’s not subjective, it’s just a clear penalty.”
But this did little to deter Fulham, and just eight minutes later Bobby Decordova-Reid dashed the ball past Becker to hand the London side the lead.
Following on from the goal, Fulham continued to dominate the Reds, with Cavaleiro continuing to search for a goal he would never find.
Meanwhile, other than near-misses from the likes of Jordan Henderson and Mo Salah, Liverpool failed to connect repeatedly, giving the ball away at every opportunity.
But the game was not over yet, as a Liverpool free-kick struck the wall, and the arm of Fulham sub Aboubakar Kamara, and Marriner pointed to the spot.
Salah stepped up, and his shot narrowly escaped the grasp of keeper Alphonse Areola, as he scored his fifth penalty of the 2020/21 campaign – and his 85th career goal for the reigning EPL champions.
Despite the draw, Jurgen Klopp praised his players on their ability to overcome a rough start, and their apparent fatigue.
Klopp said: “When you look at the results, all the teams that played Champions League or Europa League during the week had a tough one this weekend. It’s crazy. So just now, after all the games, maybe that was the weekend where we all felt it a little bit. But then you have to fight against it and that’s what the boys did.”
After the match, Fulham remain in 17th place, with Burnley able to surpass them if they pull off an upset of Arsenal.
For Liverpool, their failure to secure a win means they fail to capitalise on the poor 1-1 result earned by Tottenham hours earlier and remain second on goal difference.
Liverpool’s next match in the Premier League will see them host Spurs at Anfield, with the number one spot and their immaculate home record at stake it means that there is everything to play for.
By Kit Macintosh
