Mohamed Salah scored from the penalty spot to help Liverpool produce one of the narrow football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. After Issa Diop was found to have fouled Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah scored Liverpool’s game-winning penalty to score his 17th Premier League goal of the year. The penalty call by referee Stuart Atwell was deemed “embarrassing” by Fulham manager Marco Silva. Alisson made a tremendous save to deny Carlos Vinicius a point for Fulham at the end of the second half, and Bobby Decordova-Reid, a replacement, missed the visitors’ finest opportunity in stoppage time. However, Salah’s goal was sufficient for Liverpool to win their fifth straight match in the Premier League, moving them up to fifth.
On Sunday, Fulham started strongly and had the first chance at an opening when Harry Wilson’s cross was punched clear of the goalmouth by Virgil van Dijk after only four minutes. This contrasted with London rivals Tottenham, who could not survive the early Anfield assault. The first attempt on goal would go to the visitors, as Carlos Vinicius stung Alisson’s hands just before the quarter-hour mark. Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was thriving in the freedom of his new hybrid role, registered Liverpool’s first attempt shortly after, firing inches wide after a nice link-up play with Salah.
A moment of lunacy from Diop put an end to Fulham’s 37-minute fightback. The center-back exacerbated his gaffe by carelessly chopping the Liverpool striker down after stumbling in possession and inviting pressure from Nunez. Salah scored an impressive penalty right down the center to put Liverpool ahead, and neither the referee Stuart Atwell nor himself hesitated to point to the spot.
As Liverpool’s inability to score a second dragged into the second half, Fulham gained confidence. However, Alisson made a brilliant stop at Vinicius’ feet to deny the visitors a share of the spoils as they pushed for an equalizer. Jordan Henderson, the captain of Liverpool, had a chance to seal the match late on but pulled wide. It almost proved to be a costly error when Decordova-Reid missed Fulham’s final opportunity with what was essentially the last play.
Following Sergio Agüero (27), Thierry Henry (23), and Luka Milivojevic (22) as the only non-English players to have scored 20 penalties in the Premier League is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. Liverpool defeated Fulham in the Premier League to earn their first victory against the West London team since March 2019, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Only between October 2012 and August 2014 did Liverpool record a longer streak (25 games) of winning Premier League home games when they scored the first goal. In their last nine Premier League games, Fulham has suffered seven losses. No team has had more losses in the league since March 1 (Nottingham Forest also has 7 losses). Liverpool’s winning streak in the Premier League has reached five games, the longest since April 2022 (10 games).
“Really happy with significant portions of the game: first half controlling, setting up but failing to resolve situations. I really enjoy the penalty because it involves counter-pressing; Darwin really engages in the action and receives a penalty, which Mo then completes,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said. “Then, we must fight to the bitter end and obviously, Ali (Alisson Becker) was needed. (Carlos) Vinicius’s save was outstanding, and he was happier than anyone else about keeping the scoreless. Five victories in a row are quite rare. The longer it felt like we hadn’t done it, the more I enjoyed it.”
“I have to admit that the way they scored the goal is humiliating. It is tough to comprehend why a penalty like that would be awarded in the modern sport when the VAR didn’t reverse the decision,” Fulham boss Marco Silva said. “I won’t say anything else since it will be tough for me to continue and I don’t want to make things worse. That penalty is difficult to comprehend. After touching his left leg with Issa, Darwin began to dive after touching the ball. Issa assured me that it is not a punishment. The VAR is available to make the determination that the referee erred and prevent the penalty from continuing. That makes sense to me.”
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