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 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. They were passive throughout as Liverpool, found the energy and finishing to reach the landmark of 1,500 league wins at Anfield. It was their second win in six league games after a Champions League away fixture this season and should repair confidence before a daunting assignment against PSG on Tuesday.
There were no flags on display on the Kop as part of protests against Liverpool’s decision to increase most ticket prices for the next three seasons by the rate of inflation. The removal of imagery the club and broadcasters love to promote, along with a completely flat atmosphere, were pointed demonstrations of what could happen to Anfield should Liverpool drive their traditional fanbase away in favour of the tourist economy. One banner reading ‘No to ticket prices increases’ was paraded along the front of the Kop in the 14th minute, followed by a chant that bluntly told Liverpool’s owners where to stick their price rises.
The contest reflected the subdued atmosphere until Ngumoha took it upon his gifted young self to enliven proceedings. Liverpool were the sharper and more aggressive, Fulham strangely sluggish, though Bernd Leno was not seriously troubled in the opening 35 minutes. Jeremie Frimpong provided Liverpool’s most potent threat . His pass inside to Salah resulted in the only real chance of note, saved by Leno at his near post, before Ngumoha changed the complexion of the evening with a superb opener.
The referee, Anthony Taylor, played a good advantage after the Fulham midfielder Sander Berge had wrestled Cody Gakpo to the ground. Florian Wirtz collected the loose ball and found Ngumoha lurking in space on the left. The winger dazzled Timothy Castagne with a series of step-overs, turning the full-back one way and then the other, and curled a pristine finish around Joachim Andersen into the far left corner.
Photograph: Jon Super/AP
Ngumoha not only brought a drab game to life, but created a slice of history in becoming Liverpool’s youngest league goalscorer at Anfield at the age of 17 years and 225 days. He took a 14-year record that had belonged to Raheem Sterling.
The connection between Ngumoha, Wirtz and Salah improved immediately and offers Slot food for thought for Tuesday’s Champions League return against PSG. His decision to remove Wirtz and Ngumoha in the 68th minute may have been taken with the quarter-final second leg in mind.
By then, Liverpool had the rare comfort of a two-goal lead that arrived four minutes after the breakthrough by Salah, a player at the opposite end of his Anfield career. Ngumoha was integral to the second goal with another confident run, taking on three Fulham players before clipping a pass into Gakpo. The Dutch international turned the ball on to Salah who swept a clinical finish inside Leno’s far corner.
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Liverpool 2-0 Fulham key facts
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• Mohamed Salah’s goal took him to 250 non-penalty goals and assists in the Premier League (157 goals, 93 assists), becoming the fifth player to do so after Wayne Rooney (288), Ryan Giggs (269), Alan Shearer (268) and Andrew Cole (259).
• Only Alan Shearer (204), Andrew Cole (186), Wayne Rooney (185) and Harry Kane (180) have scored more non-penalty goals in the Premier League than Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (157), going level with Sergio Agüero.
• At 17 years and 225 days, only Wayne Rooney (17y 51d v Blackburn) and Cesc Fàbregas (17y 113d v Blackburn) have started a Premier League game and scored at a younger age than Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha (pictured shooting for his goal. Opta
Marco Silva made a double substitution at the break in an attempt to inject some energy and intensity into the Fulham performance. The introduction of Emile Smith Rowe and Sasa Lukic for Josh King and Oscar Bobb respectively brought a modest improvement, although Gakpo should have extended the lead from Frimpong’s immaculate cross early in the second half. The forward, who led the line with Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak on the bench, made a mess of the delivery in front of goal.
Smith Rowe should have also done better when found unmarked inside the Liverpool area by fellow substitute Ryan Sessegnon. The midfielder’s first-time volley trickled wide of Giorgi Mamardashvili’s goal.
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