At the end of a stormy week for Arne Slot there was respite in the form of a morale-boosting display from Rio Ngumoha. Liverpool’s 17-year-old winger marked only his second start in the Premier League with a goal and a key part in the second for Mohamed Salah as the faltering champions recorded a first league win since February.
Liverpool appeared vulnerable after painful cup quarter-final defeats at Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain but Fulham never put that theory to the test. Marco Silva’s side were passive throughout as Liverpool, re-energised by Ngumoha, found the energy and finishing to reach the landmark of 1,500 league wins at Anfield. It was only their second win in six league games after a Champions League away fixture this season and should repair confidence ahead of a daunting assignment against PSG on Tuesday.
double quotation markComing back to Anfield and getting the three points, it’s a great feeling. It was a special goal for me, Robbo made the overlap and I cut inside and just aimed for the corner.
To me, Liverpool is the biggest club in the world, and for the manager to have faith in me when I’m so young is great. I have to keep pushing and keep working hard.
double quotation mark[On Ngumoha] He was unbelievable. It shows you, sometimes don’t listen to the experienced players – I was screaming at him for the ball! It was a great finish by him and a great performance. He’s such a good kid, a pleasure to work with, and he’s got a big future ahead.
I knew my song would be sung a couple of times! This club means everything to me, I’ve been here nine years and I became a man here. This club has made me who I am today.
The updated Premier League table
Liverpool end a tough week on a positive note with victory over Fulham at Anfield. It wasn’t always plain sailing, but they were the better team and the two first-half goals from Rio Ngumoha and Mo Salah were excellent. Ngumoha’s sparkling performance cheered everybody up and may have earned him a place in the XI to face Paris Saint-Germain.
90+2 min The Liverpool fans are finishing the game as they started it, by singing about Andy Robertson. £8m!
90+1 min Four added minutes.
90 min: Liverpool substitution Trey Nyoni replaces Mo Salah, who gets a fine hand after a strong performance.
89 min Chukwueze has a shot blocked with Van Dijk after a nice one-two on the edge of the area. Fulham are ending the match strongly.
86 min Jimenez, on the edge of the area, cracks a bouncing ball just wide of the near post. A good effort though I suspect the keeper had it covered.
85 min Fulham haven’t given this up, but for all their neat, tidy passing they have struggled to create clear chances.
81 min Mac Allister runs onto Bassey’s clearance and blasts a shot wide from the edge of the area. That was a good chance.
80 min: Fulham substitutions Raul Jimenez and Samuel Chukwueze come on for Harry Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz.
78 min: Chance for Fulham! Out of nothing, a big chance for Fulham. Sessegnon’s cross on the turn was volleyed across goal and just wide by Smith Rowe. Mamardashvili wouldn’t have got to it had it been on target.
77 min Robertson’s cross is taken off Isak’s head by Bassey. The ball reaches Salah, whose shot hits Sessegnon and loops into the arms of Leno.
76 min Leno has to backpedal smartly to paw Szoboszlai’s inswinging corner clear from under the crossbar.
73 min Liverpool break three on two. Salah plays a fine pass to Gakpo, whose shot deflects behind for a corner.
72 min An outswinging corner from Wilson is headed wide by Anderson, 12 yards out and wrestling with Gravenberch. Tough chance.
69 min: Fulham substitution Ryan Sessegnon comes on for Antonee Robinson.
69 min: Triple substitution for Liverpool Alexander Isak, Joe Gomez and Alexis Mac Allister replace Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and the outstanding Rio Ngumoha.
66 min Wilson shoots well wide from 20 yards. But Fulham are on top at the moment and a goal would make things interesting given the potential nervousness at Anfield.
63 min: Chance for Fulham! Wilson’s inswinging corner picks out Muniz, criminally unmarked six yards out. His unconvincing flicked header hits a Liverpool player, Wirtz I think, and flies over the bar. That could easily have gone in off Wirtz, and it probably should have gone in off Muniz.
60 min Berge’s shot from 25 yards is blocked by Van Dijk.
58 min A third Liverpool goal feels like a matter of time. THere’s an appeal for a penalty when Salah’s chip hits the hand of Robinson, but it was close enough to his body and he was trying to pull it out of the way.
54 min Ngumoha shoots straight at Leno from 20 yards after another thrilling run. He may be playing himself into the starting XI for PSG on Tuesday; it would certainly get the crowd going.
52 min Ngumoha’s cross is volleyed over on the stretch by Wirtz. Ngumoha is given Castagne an increasingly torrid time.
50 min Liveprool almost make it three on the break. Frimpong plays a give-and-go with Salah and crosses towards Gakpo, who sees the ball late and can’t quite control it on the six-yard line. With a surer touch he would probably have scored, but it came over the head of a Fulham defender so you can understand why he failed to control it.
49 min Robinson flashes a beautiful ball across the six-yard box, with no Fulham attacker able to get in touch and no Liverpool player daring to go near it.
49 min “As absurd as it feels to say, these next few matches for Arne Slot are ultimately about his legacy at Liverpool,” writes Kári Tulinius. “I think if they start next season in the Champions League, he’ll be fondly remembered. I can see the logic of Liverpool pouncing on Xabi Alonso now, but I think Slot is a very good manager, and I imagine the shrewder operators in European football are considering moves for him.”
47 min: Disallowed goal for Fulham Lukic, clearly offside, scores on the turn after his fellow substitute Smith Rowe has a shot half blocked.
Liverpool Ryan Gravenberch for the injured Curtis Jones
Fulham Sasa Lukic and Emile Smith Rowe for Oscar Bobb and Josh King.
Just what the doctor ordered for Arne Slot and Liverpool, a largely stress-free first half. Rio Ngumoha, 17, and Mo Salah, 33, curled two fine goals in the space of five minutes to put Liverpool in control – and, as things stand, four points clear of the Champions League-chasing pack. (Though Chelsea have a game in hand against City tomorrow.)
45+2 min Jones is back on the field, at least for the remainder of this half.
45+1 min “Tim Wheeler was 17 when he recorded Girl From Mars,” writes Matt Dony. “Mary Shelley began drafting Frankenstein at the same age. Picasso already had Science and Charity under his belt by his 17th birthday. And Rio Ngumoha goes and does that. 17. Seventeen. Unbelievable. Still, maybe I’ll still create a masterpiece…”
I can’t lie, Matt, I’m a bit disappointed to be excluded from your list of precocious 17-year-olds.
45 min Curtis Jones is down with what looks like a muscle injury. There will be two minutes of added time.
43 min Fulham were having their best spell when Ngumoha scored. Now they’re in danger of being finished off before half-time. Ngumoha tees up Robertson for a shot on the half turn that is saved to his right by Leno.
43 min “Robster!” writes Simon McMahon. “I’m high on crack life after a last kick winner for Dundee United today, and also the fact that it’s Masters Saturday Andrew ‘Andy’ Robertson is starting for Liverpool. He might be my favourite player of the last 15 years. The season he spent at Tannadice seems like a distant dream, but a very pleasant one.
“Will never forget this goal he scored, I watched him all the way as he made his way forward before drilling a shot into the corner. If the net hadn’t been there it would have made its way to me as I stood open mouthed, like he knew I was watching and was trying to pass to me. He celebrated right in front of me and my daughter, who was about 15 at the time, not an awful lot younger than him. Happy days.
“I guess, even after the career high of a Scottish Cup final to defeat to St. Johnstone in 2014, he’s done alright for himself since he left, and even though we’ve been relegated twice in the decade since, I’d still have him back.”
42 min That’s Mo Salah’s 256th goal for Liverpool. Two hundred and fifty blooming six.
