EPL: Liverpool return to winning ways as Ngumoha stars in Fulham victory
Liverpool’s emerging talent and departing talisman delivered a timely lift for manager Arne Slot as goals from teenager Rio Ngumoha and Mohamed Salah secured a 2-0 win over Fulham, ending
Liverpool’s emerging talent and departing talisman delivered a timely lift for manager Arne Slot as goals from teenager Rio Ngumoha and Mohamed Salah secured a 2-0 win over Fulham, ending the Reds’ three-game losing run on Saturday.
Salah did not feature in Liverpool’s 2-0 UEFA Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, a result that piled pressure on the side.
Slot had explained that the 33-year-old was rested to preserve his energy for matches where Liverpool would dominate possession, having been overrun by the European champions.
The Egyptian forward responded in style, scoring on his first Anfield appearance since confirming he will leave at the end of the season, and netting his first home Premier League goal in over five months.
Andy Robertson also announced his departure this week after nine glorious years at the club.
But if those exits had Liverpool fans longing for the days when Jurgen Klopp’s side were at their peak, Ngumoha gave hope for the future.
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The 17-year-old has been handled conservatively by Slot despite showing his capability with a late winner in the second game of the season at Newcastle.
In his flashes since, Ngumoha has provided the width and pace Liverpool have badly been lacking during a difficult second season for Slot.
He became Liverpool’s youngest ever Premier League goalscorer at Anfield when he wriggled clear of his marker to bend a sublime strike into the far corner on 36 minutes.
Just four minutes later, Salah did likewise from the opposite side of the area to net his 256th Liverpool goal.
A completely different scale of task awaits Slot’s men on Tuesday as they aim to overturn the first-leg deficit against PSG in the Champions League. Related News
But a return to winning ways was vital to open up some breathing space in the battle just to be in the competition next season.
Five English sides are now guaranteed Champions League qualification.
Liverpool remain fifth but opened up a four-point lead over sixth-placed Chelsea, who host Manchester City on Sunday.
Defeat is a major blow to Fulham’s European ambitions as they slip to 11th.
How much respite a first league win in four games gives Slot remains to be seen.
Disgruntled fans chanted the name of former midfield favourite Xabi Alonso after last weekend’s 4-0 demolition by City in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Alonso, who left Real Madrid in January, is the prime candidate to take over should Slot be dismissed at the end of the season despite winning the Premier League in his first year in England.
The disquiet around Anfield is not, though, restricted to the coach and players.
Fans staged protests before and during the game at planned ticket price increases, in line with inflation, for the next three seasons.
