Mario Lemina condemned troubled Liverpool to a sixth successive home defeat as Fulham earned a shock 1-0 win that left the champions’ top four bid in turmoil on Sunday.
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Jurgen Klopp’s side are four points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea, who can extend that lead to seven if they beat Everton on Monday.
That would leave Liverpool with a tough task to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top four finish.
They could still make it by winning the Champions League, but glory in Europe’s elite club competition is hard to envisage given Liverpool’s steep decline.
In a sign of how far they have fallen, even third-bottom Fulham easily out-played Liverpool to secure three points at Anfield for the first time in nine years.
Without an Anfield victory since before Christmas, Liverpool are a pale shadow of the team that romped to their first English title for 30 years last season.
They have been destabilised by horrific injury problems in defence, but it was still jarring to see the toothless Reds surrender so tamely once again.
Klopp insists his stars will remain loyal even if Liverpool miss out on a Champions League place, but on the evidence of their latest embarrassment, the Reds boss might need to make significant changes to catch champions-elect Manchester City next term.
Liverpool’s Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Salah (R) reacts to their defeat on the final whistle in the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Fulham at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on March 7, 2021. Fulham won the game 1-0. Clive Brunskill / POOL / AFP
With one eye on defending their 2-0 lead in Wednesday’s Champions League last 16 second leg against Leipzig, Klopp made seven changes and fielded a youthful defence featuring Neco Williams, Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips.
The selection of Rhys Williams alongside Phillips meant injury-hit Liverpool were fielding their 19th different starting centre-back partnership in 28 league matches.
– Impotent Liverpool –
Unsurprisingly, Liverpool showed a lack of organisation and cohesion at the back, with Josh Maja sneaking behind the two inexperienced central defenders to scoop his volley over the bar.
Ademola Lookman got behind Neco Williams moments later, cutting into the Liverpool area before dragging his shot wide.
Fulham were causing Liverpool’s makeshift defence all manner of problems and Maja was narrowly off-target from Lookman’s pass.
Ivan Cavaleiro raced onto a long ball and beats Phillips, only to shoot over from a good position.
Diogo Jota made his first start since December after injury and Xherdan Shaqiri was up front as they replaced Sadio Mane and the injured Roberto Firmino.
Shaqiri curled a free-kick just over, but Liverpool were impotent in attack and Fulham’s impressive display was rewarded in first half stoppage-time.
Bereft of confidence and growing more timid by the minute, Liverpool conceded in woeful fashion.
When Andrew Robertson could only head clear to the edge of the area, Mohamed Salah was easily brushed off the ball by Lemina, who drilled a fine finish into the far corner of Alisson Becker’s goal.
It was sweet moment for the Gabon international after his accidental handball saw Maja’s equaliser against Tottenham harshly ruled out in midweek.
Salah’s half-hearted effort was hardly the response Klopp was looking for after the Egyptian showed his frustration when he was substituted against Chelsea on Thursday.
Jota’s stinging volley from Neco Williams’ cross forced a fine Alphonse Areola save early in the second half.
Just after that chance, a plane flew over Anfield bearing the slogan “Unity is strength. Let’s go Reds. YNWA”.
Although Mane came off the bench to loop a header onto the woodwork and Shaqiri went with a curler, Liverpool rarely looked like response to that call to arms.
Player ratings
Liverpool: Alisson (6), N Williams (5), R Williams (6), Phillips (6), Robertson (6), Milner (6), Wijnaldum (5), Keita (6), Shaqiri (5), Salah (5), Jota (6).
Subs: Fabinho (5), Mane (6), Alexander-Arnold (5).
Fulham: Areola (7), Tete (8), Andersen (8), Tosin (8), Aina (8), Reed (7), Lemina (8), Lookman (8), Cavaleiro (7), Decordova-Reid (7), Maja (7).
Subs: Mitrovic (6), Loftus-Cheek (6), Robinson (n/a).
Man of the Match: Joachim Andersen
Match stats — Anfield has fallen
Liverpool have lost six consecutive home league games, their longest ever such run, while they are the first side to lose six in a row on home soil in the Premier League since Huddersfield Town in February 2019 (seven).
Liverpool's six league defeats at Anfield in 2020-21 is their most in a single campaign since 1953-54 (also six), when the Reds finished bottom of the top-flight.
Fulham are the first newly-promoted side to win away at Liverpool in the Premier League since Blackpool beat Roy Hodgson's Reds in October 2010, ending Liverpool's run of 30 home league meetings with such opponents without defeat (W24 D6).
Liverpool are now winless in their last eight home games in the Premier League (D2 L6), only embarking on a longer winless top-flight run at Anfield once before - 10 games between October 1951 and March 1952.
Excluding penalties and own goals, Liverpool have failed to score with each of their last 115 shots at Anfield in the Premier League (including 16 today). Since we have exact times of shots available in the competition (2006-07), this is the longest such scoreless run of shots on home soil by any side.
What the managers said...
Jurgen Klopp claimed Fulham's 1-0 win at Anfield against Liverpool was not because the London side showed more desire than the Reds.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp: "There were moments we could have had more of an impact on the game. Conceding that goal before half-time was a massive blow. We tried to react, and the boys showed that. In the end if we don't score goals that's a big problem.
"We never had a momentum in the season, really, in the Premier League at least. You can see that. It's still in the boys, they still have it all, but in the moment can't show it. It would be a masterpiece to find out how we change that overnight.
"The only good thing is we play a different competition in three games and hopefully we can show a different face there.
"Fulham will cause us problems - it's clear. They're in a good moment, they're a good team. We all agree a team like this should stay in the Premier League."
Asked if Fulham 'wanted it more', Klopp said: "The winner is always right. My boys wanted it. It's easy to judge, 'they have won it so wanted it more.' I don't think that's the problem. I don't have to stand here and say we're fighting for this or that."
Fulham manager Scott Parker claimed his side 'got what they deserved' in the 1-0 win at Anfield against Liverpool and cited the resilience of his players as a key factor.
Fulham manager Scott Parker: "First half I thought we were every bit what I wanted us to look like. The chances we created, the boys stuck to the plan, and we were worthy of the first goal.
"But again at the end, the whole second half, we had to show another side to us, character, resilience, doggedness. I'm so proud of the team today.
I've always said to the team: 'The way we're playing, things will change' and today we're on the right side of that, so it's massive.
"There is momentum with us as a team. When it's all said and done at the end of the season, we'll work out whether we were good enough or not.
"I'm pleased for the lads, that they've got what they deserve, because for large parts of this season, and in the last 10 or 15 games, we haven't got what we deserved."
Team news
Jurgen Klopp made seven changes to the team beaten by Chelsea, with Diogo Jota, Neco Williams, Rhys Williams and Nathaniel Phillips among the returnees.
Bobby Decordova-Reid and Kenny Tete returned as Fulham made team changes from the defeat to Tottenham.
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