Mohamed Salah spared Liverpool’s blushes as the Egyptian’s late penalty rescued a 1-1 draw against struggling Fulham on Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were punished for a sloppy first half display at Craven Cottage when Bobby Decordova-Reid gave Fulham a shock lead.
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But Salah rescued the Premier League champions after Aboubakar Kamara handled with 11 minutes left.
Liverpool remain in second place and sit behind leaders Tottenham on goal difference.
Crystal Palace’s late equaliser in their 1-1 draw against Tottenham just before Liverpool kicked off had given the Reds a chance to go top if they won in west London.
Instead, they will have to wait until Wednesday’s summit meeting with Tottenham at Anfield for their next chance to knock Jose Mourinho’s team out of pole position.
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last eight league games, but they were far from their fluent best and are winless in their past five away league matches.
Adding to Klopp’s concerns, Joel Matip suffered a back injury that saw him join the long list of Liverpool injuries which already included his fellow centre-backs Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.
Klopp’s pre-match admission that Diogo Jota will be sidelined for up to eight weeks with a knee injury leaves the Reds boss relying on Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane to lead the attack throughout the hectic Christmas and New Year period.
Fulham have just two wins in their last 11 games in all competitions, but this spirited effort showed Scott Parker’s fourth bottom side are capable of avoiding relegation.
Klopp had warned his players not to underestimate Fulham as they look ahead to the Tottenham game, but their erratic performance suggested they hadn’t been listening closely.
With coronavirus restrictions eased in London, it was the first time Fulham had been able to have fans in their stadium since last season’s promotion. (AFP)
