Liverpool responded to Arsenal’s win over Wolves on Saturday by securing three points at Fulham, thanks to goals from Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Jota.
It has been a damaging week for Liverpool and Arsenal, both in terms of the Premier League title race and crashing out of Europe.
But they answered anyone questioning their characters by ensuring that Manchester City won’t be running away with the title just yet!
Before the game against Fulham, Jurgen Klopp surprised many by opting to bench his star man Mohamed Salah, but Diogo Jota returned to the XI.
The 27-year-old has been a huge miss for Liverpool’s Premier League title charge, especially given the team’s struggles in putting the ball in the back of the net.
But it also needs to be noted that the defensive side of the game has also been lacking, as was proven against Manchester United, Crystal Palace and Atalanta in recent weeks.
When the away side opened the scoring through Trent Alexander-Arnold, they would have been frustrated to concede just before the break and just as Fulham upped their game.
That was highlighted by Jota in his post-match interview and he described Liverpool’s defending as ‘childish’, as he told Premier League Productions (21/04/24 at 6:45 pm).
He made it clear that his teammates just couldn’t cope or relax themselves when pressure was put on them, with issues from goal kicks getting a mention.
Liverpool’s defending against Fulham
“I have to say it was a bit childish from our side with the way we conceded,” said Jota.
“Obviously, this was their best momentum in the first half and we didn’t know how to control it. We had a chance to do it with a couple of goal kicks, we tried to play fast and I don’t think it was a clever thing to do and we conceded.
“That’s football and that’s Premier League. But I am really pleased with the way we reacted and controlled the game in the second half.”
Merseyside derby against Everton
On paper Liverpool should win this, and under Klopp’s stewardship, they have for most of the time got the better of Everton.
But on Sunday, whilst the Reds beat Fulham, their neighbours secured a very important 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest to boost their Premier League survival hopes.
That eases the pressure on Sean Dyche’s men heading into the game and probably relaxes them to Liverpool’s disadvantage.
Either way, a win here for Klopp and his players, and it will go a long way to providing them with the boost that they need in the title race.