Rio Ngmoja charmed the Anfield crowd on Saturday night. (Image: Getty)
Arne Slott’s Liverpool faced Fulham at home on Saturday night, ending a three-game losing streak and taking three Premier League points for the first time since February. This leaves Liverpool in fifth place and continuing their quest to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
On that day, the Grand National was being held just outside Aintree, and it was Rio Ngmoja who ran through the Fulham defense and scored the opening goal. In contrast to the youthful Ngumoha, the second goal was scored by a player nearing the end of his Liverpool career. Ngmoha got involved again and hit the ball at the back post, where Kodi Gakpo released it for Mohamed Salah, who started his walk-off tour with a trademark left-footed finish.
Fulham’s threat increased somewhat in the second half. Had Emile Smith-Rowe scored from close range in the closing stages, it might have been a different game. Coach Slott would have liked to see more from his players, but the three points are important if they are aiming for a top-five finish. Express Sport has released their player ratings for Liverpool’s 2-0 win against Fulham.
There wasn’t much to do as Liverpool thwarted Fulham’s continued pressure. He responded to whatever was asked of him and took command of his domain well.
He was having fun from an attacking point of view and was a threat when he picked up the ball up front. There were times when he struggled defensively, but there were times when he was rescued by his teammates.
The Frenchman, whose future is in doubt, has had some bad experiences in recent weeks. It wasn’t like that today, but if Fulham had halved the deficit it could have been an awkward situation. The bigger concern was his wasted possession.
He made some important blocks and was the most alert of Liverpool’s defenders.
Another Liverpool legend is leaving, but the Scot has put in a solid performance for the most part.
He risked angering the Reds faithful with his reaction after the full-time whistle in last week’s FA Cup away game against Manchester City. He responded with a solid performance against Fulham.
He was picked up at halftime, but was withdrawn due to injury just before the break.
Mohamed Salah returns to scoring form against Fulham (Image: Getty)
The star of the show and by far the best player on the pitch. He lifted the ceiling with a brilliant opening shot and a few minutes later gave Liverpool an influence. The teenager is gearing up for squad selection on Tuesday night, given that the hosts looked far less of a threat to keep him off the pitch.
The German player once again showed an overwhelming performance. For the most part, Liverpool’s attack was incredibly fluid, but it often fell apart when the ball fell to the 116 million pound man.
They led the line in the absence of Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak, but they would not have been able to make much of a contribution to clinch a place in Tuesday’s showdown with Paris Saint-Germain. He put a shot wide of the target midway through the second half, but that was it.
He appeared emotional before kick-off as he was the last Liverpool player to embody ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. He responded to the crowd’s excitement with a stylish strike and ended a five-month wait without a Premier League goal at Anfield.
He replaced the injured Curtis Jones at half-time and played his usual defense in front of the back four.
As always, I did something reliable off the bench.
It’s all about increasing match fitness for the Swede after his recent return from injury. He might appear in the middle of the week.
Although he has come under heavy criticism this season, he hasn’t done too bad when called upon. We should have done better with a sharp shot from the edge of the box.
