Liverpool 2–0 Fulham: Rio Ngumoha Shines as Reds Return to Winning Ways

Liverpool FC beat Fulham FC at Anfield in a comfortable 2–0 win for Arne Slot’s side that put an end to their recent poor run.

Liverpool, rewarded for showing attacking intent, looked convincing throughout as they put the disappointment of recent lacklustre defeats to Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Brighton behind them. Fulham, on the other hand, surprisingly did not offer enough to really test Liverpool’s vulnerable defence.

Liverpool dominated the first half with 60% possession, playing sharp, fluid football that, at times, felt like the title-winning Liverpool of last season.

On both flanks, Mohamed Salah and Ngumoha were big threats, as Liverpool’s width was key to their dominance, stretching Fulham’s backline and creating frequent 1v1 situations for their wingers, particularly for Ngumoha on the left.

Man of the match, Ngumoha, was very dangerous every time he picked up the ball on the left wing, constantly trying to make things happen.

For his goal, he dribbled at Timothy Castagne, twisting and turning the Fulham defender with a couple of stepovers, before shifting the ball onto his right foot to curl a magical shot into the far corner past Bernd Leno.

Ngumoha became the youngest Premier League goalscorer at Anfield at only 17 years old, rightfully given a standing ovation as he was substituted after 69 minutes.

Just a few minutes later, for Liverpool’s second, Ngumoha crossed it into Cody Gakpo, starting up front in Ekitike’s surprise absence.

Gakpo controlled the ball well, shielding it and laying it off to Salah. Salah wrapped it into the bottom corner perfectly, almost mirroring Ngumoha’s finish from the other side a trademark Salah finish Anfield will inevitably miss as his legendary nine-year spell at the club reaches its end.

Marco Silva made two changes at half-time, bringing on Emile Smith Rowe and Sasa Lukic for Oscar Bobb and Josh King.

For Liverpool, Gravenberch came on for the injured Curtis Jones. Substitute Lukic thought he had scored soon after the second half got underway, but it was rightfully ruled offside. Smith Rowe later spurned a good opportunity just wide in the second half.

Frimpong performed well again at right-back and always offered an option to run beyond Fulham’s backline. This time, he played a great cross to Gakpo, who never looked fully in control of the ball and should have done better to get his shot on target.

Despite controlling large spells of the second half, Fulham pushed but ultimately never looked like scoring.

Star player Harry Wilson had a fairly quiet game after his chance in the first half went just over the crossbar.

Marco Silva will be disappointed with Fulham’s performance, particularly as Liverpool’s confidence was low before the match kicked off.

Fulham, however, did not show enough urgency. Despite having 19 shots, Fulham rarely created many attempts of genuine quality to really threaten Mamardashvili, usually being reduced to speculative efforts from outside the box.

Liverpool secured a vital clean sheet that has been hard to come by of late.

Silva will review the game as a potential missed opportunity to make a statement win, although winning at Anfield again looked to be a tough task.

Liverpool host PSG on Tuesday in a massive Champions League clash.

A comfortable win here will definitely give them more confidence going into that game as they attempt to overturn a two-goal deficit. This was a Liverpool performance that showed more identity, fluidity and confidence that they have been lacking this season.

They must now find consistency in a race for a top-five spot.

For Fulham, they have some tough games coming up against teams around them in the table.

Firstly, a trip across west London to Brentford, before hosting Aston Villa at Craven Cottage the week after. Fulham will look to get their European aspirations back on track and hope to finish the season strongly.