Fulham 1-3 Liverpool: Rotated Reds respond in style to keep title hopes alive

LONDON – Title-chasing Liverpool brushed aside Fulham 3-1 in the sun at Craven Cottage on Sunday to breathe new life into their pursuit of the Premier League trophy.

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The brilliant Trent Alexander-Arnold gave Liverpool a deserved lead via a wonderful free kick but Fulham hung in there and scored just before the break through Timothy Castagne.

Liverpool dominated the second half as Ryan Gravenberch made it 2-1 with a fine finish and the clinical Diogo Jota made it 3-1 to seal the win. After a tough week which saw them lose at home to Crystal Palace and knocked out of the Europa League by Atalanta, Jurgen Klopp will be delighted with the response of his much-changed side.

With the victory Liverpool move on to 74 points, level with Premier League leaders Arsenal. Liverpool and Arsenal both sit ahead of third-place Manchester City by one point but City have a game in-hand. Fulham remain comfortable in midtable and are on 42 points.

Rotation key to keeping Liverpool in title race

Just because Liverpool have a lot of key players back fit doesn’t mean they need to start every game. Missing so many stars for a prolonged period, Klopp was forced to rotate heavily throughout the winter and it worked extremely well. In recent games some of his established players have looked jaded, perhaps because they’ve been rushed back from injury and gone straight back into playing games every three days without a rest. That just isn’t possible and the decision to start Salah, Nunez, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister and Konate on the bench at Fulham worked a treat. Liverpool looked fresh, sharp and Fulham couldn’t handle their movement. Klopp now has five games remaining as Liverpool manager, all in the Premier League, and if he wants to go out on the ultimate high as a Premier League winner then he should rotate heavily. They have Everton away in midweek, then West Ham away and then Tottenham at home the following weekend before an eight-day rest until their trip to Aston Villa on May 13. Klopp has to manager this expertly and get Liverpool to their game at Villa with their entire squad firing on all cylinders. Because to win a title you need everyone to step up and Liverpool, more than anybody, have learned that from this season.

Fulham vs Liverpool player ratings

Via our friends at FotMob.com you can see that Alexander-Arnold, Jota and Gakpo were all sublime as Gakpo won the ball back in so many dangerous areas and Jota and TAA had the quality to make Fulham pay. It was a solid display from Liverpool throughout aside from 10 minutes at the end of the first half.

What’s next?

Fulham are next in action on Saturday, April 27 at Crystal Palace. Liverpool head to Merseyside rivals Everton on Wednesday, April 24 and then head to West Ham on April 27.

How to watch Fulham vs Liverpool live, stream link and start time

Kick off: 11:30am ET Sunday
TV Channel: USA Network
Online: Watch live online via NBC.com

Fulham vs Liverpool final score: 1-3

Castagne 45+2'; Alexander-Arnold 32', Gravenberch 53', Jota 72'

Fulham vs Liverpool live updates! - By Joe Prince-Wright at Craven Cottage

Full time: Fulham 1-3 Liverpool

Liverpool eased to victory as a classy, calm display keeps them firmly in the title race with five games to go. Klopp got his team selection spot on and although Fulham did create some chances, they never truly looked like getting anything from this game.

Fulham hit the post

Alisson gets down low to save Cairney's shot and the rebound is knocked into the post by Muniz. Fulham are plugging away but Liverpool bringing on so many key players off the bench has helped get them over the line.

Jota finishes across goal after great work from Gakpo - Fulham 1-3 Liverpool (72nd minute)

That should be game, set, match to Liverpool. Gakpo wins the ball back and finds Jota in-behind and he finishes across goal as Leno got a hand to it. Liverpool have been superb.

Almost an own goal by Bassey

Jota turns superbly and Bassey cuts out the through ball to Diaz, who was offside, but almost puts the ball in his own net. Corner for Liverpool.

Jota is denied by Leno

It is all one-way traffic in the second half as Leno saves down low after good work from Jota. Liverpool are in their groove, just like they were for most of the first half. But we know what happened then. Surely Klopp will bring on Salah and Co. soon to keep the tempo high.

A lovely finish from Gravenberch has Liverpool ahead again - Fulham 1-2 Liverpool (53rd minute)

That was coming. Iwobi with a bad giveaway. Liverpool win it back and Ryan Gravenberch curls home a beauty from the edge of the box as it hits the post and goes in. Liverpool's players celebrate wildly with their fans in the away end. Liverpool have been excellent at the start of the second half. This is exactly the response Jurgen Klopp would have wanted and he's smiling in the dugout.

Liverpool well on top early in the second half

Harvey Elliott drags a good chance wide after fine play down the left from Liverpool and the Reds have been well on top at the start of the second half.

Half time: Fulham 1-1 Liverpool

Liverpool will be kicking themselves for conceding right before half time but they only have themselves to blame. Klopp's side were looking slick for most of that first half but they started to give the ball away in bad areas (perhaps through tiredness?) and let Fulham back into the game. What kind of response will we see from Liverpool in the second half? Surely the likes of Salah, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Nunez will all be coming on very soon.

That was coming as Castagne fires home - Fulham 1-1 Liverpool (47th minute)

Fulham have been on top before the break and a cross into the box causes chaos, Liverpool block Muniz's header and the ball drops to Castagne who fires past Alisson. Game on!

Alisson denies Muniz; Pereira whips a free kick just over

Fulham win the ball back off Endo and Palhinha finds Muniz who tries to squeeze the ball home but Alisson gets down well to save. The hosts are hanging in there but mostly because Liverpool are being a little sloppy as half time approaches. Andreas Pereira then whips a free kick just over the bar as the home fans want a corner as they believe Alisson tipped it over.

Leno tips over Gakpo’s shot

What a stop that is from Leno. Gakpo cuts inside a drills a shot on target but Leno pulls of a magnificent save to tip it over.

Alexander-Arnold whips home a superb free kick - Fulham 0-1 Liverpool (32nd minute)

Joao Palhinha catches Jota and gets booked for it as he made two poor tackles in just a few minutes to give free kicks away in dangerous positions. Elliott sent the first one into the wall but this time Alexander-Arnold curls it up and over the wall and into the top corner. What a finish.

Good chance for Liverpool

Alexander-Arnold again at the heart of everything for Liverpool. He finds Diaz with an exquisite pass and his cross finds Jota but the Portuguese forward hits his shot against his own leg and it goes out for a goal kick. That was a really good chance.

Really good start by Liverpool

Diaz is buzzing around up top and Bassey just gets a foot on the ball to deny him being in on goal. Liverpool are playing direct and their quick passing and movement is blowing Fulham away. The hosts have a real threat on the break though. They just haven't picked the right pass when they have got forward and Andreas Pereira's brilliant free kick isn't flicked home by one of three Fulham players at the near post.

Huge chance early on for Liverpool as Diaz heads wide

What a cross from Alexander-Arnold and it finds Diaz eight yards out but he flicks his header wide. Liverpool should be 1-0 up. That was a huge chance.

We are off and running here at the Cottage and the sun has come out just in time for kick off. Perfect. Welcome along to the spiritual home of American soccer on UK soil.

Fulham lineup

Leno; Castagne, Tosin, Bassey, Robinson; Palhinha, Lukic; Reid, Pereira, Iwobi; Muniz

Liverpool lineup

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Endo, Elliott; Jota, Gakpo, Diaz

Fulham focus, team news

The Cottagers have had standouts in every part of the field, with Rodrigo Muniz up top and Joao Palhinha in the midfield collecting the most headlines.

OUT/QUESTIONABLE: None

Liverpool focus, team news

The Reds have had increasingly consistent and strong performances from Darwin Nunez, and Mohamed Salah remains a star in the Liverpool sky. Healthy nearly everywhere now, the only thing that can stop the Reds are themselves and continued wins from City and Arsenal.

OUT: Joel Matip (torn ACL - out for season), Thiago Alcantara (groin), Conor Bradley (ankle)