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Jurgen Klopp felt James Milner 's late penalty in Liverpool ‘s 2-1 victory at Fulham has kept them in the title race.
Klopp’s side lead the Premier League table heading into the international break after moving two points clear of Manchester City , who have played one fewer fixture, but having come so close to a damaging draw at Craven Cottage.
After the in-form Sadio Mane had given them a half-time lead, Milner, Virgil Van Dijk and Alisson Becker combined to gift former Liverpool forward Ryan Babel the chance to score Fulham’s equaliser.
Victory was ultimately secured in the 81st minute when Mane was perhaps fortunate to have been awarded a penalty following a challenge by the hosts’ goalkeeper Sergio Rico, and Milner scored from the spot.
“We want to stay in the race. That’s what we did,” said Liverpool boss Klopp. “Nothing is decided, but we can make sure we stay in the race.
Show all 23 1 /23Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Fulham vs Liverpool
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Sergio Rico - 4 Must have felt he was doing OK when it was 1-1 with 10 minutes left before he spilled Salah’s shot at Mane’s feet and then pulled him over in the box. It was an obvious penalty and Rico had ruined all of his good work. Did at least stop it from getting worse with a save from Salah soon after.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Timothy Fosu-Mensah - 5 Trusted by Scott Parker to come back into the side and he was a powerful tackler at right back. It was never easy with Robertson and Mane doubling up on him but that was not his fault and he could hardly have worked harder than he did.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Calum Chambers - 5 Certainly an improvement on Maxime LeMarchand, he had a very difficult task here but handled it well. Never going to be quick but he is at least competent on the ball.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Tim Ream - 6 Another player who looks lifted by the changed mood here, he threw himself into everything, blocking and tackling and trying to stem the tide of red shirts. Clearly still very popular with the crowd here too.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Joe Bryan - 5 Had a slightly easier time than Fosu-Mensah on the opposite side, he was assiduous in his defensive duties, dealing with Salah and Alexander Arnold as well as he could. Pinned back, he barely managed to get up the pitch and attack as he likes to.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Tom Cairney - 6 What a shame that Cairney was ignored by Claudio Ranieri for so long. The local favourite was restored in central midfield, providing those little touches and passes to keep Fulham ticking. Even if he did not see as much of the ball as he would hope.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa - 6 Playing holding midfield against Liverpool is a nightmare, an exertion of constant pressure, but here he held his own. He won the ball, used it cleverly, and nearly pulled off a dramatic equaliser from outside the box.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Jean Michael Seri - 6 At times this season it has been impossible to see why he was so sought after last year, but not today. He was busy, ambitious, energetic, always trying to push forward even if things did not always work. Hooked for Ryan Sessegnon after an hour, however.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Floyd Ayite - 6 Brought in for his first league start of the season and it showed. Ayite had Robertson surging past him every time and he never looked like he could catch up. But in the second half he was part of Fulham’s fightback, even having a header disallowed for offside.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Aleksandar Mitrovic - 5 He has been Fulham’s difference-maker for much of this season but here he was anonymous and powerless, winning nothing against Virgil van Dijk, unable to give his team the slightest presence in the game.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Ryan Babel - 8 Claimed before the game that he knew Van Dijk’s secret weakness, and who would argue with him now? Scored what could have been a huge goal in the season when he got in between Van Dijk and Allison, bundling in an equaliser which he refused to celebrate. While it was a surprise, it was also a reward for Fulham’s only attacking player who had been willing to take anyone on all afternoon.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Alisson Becker - 5 This could have been a definitive moment of his Liverpool career had it not been for Milner’s late penalty. Slow coming off his line from Van Dijk’s header, he let Babel get in to, if only briefly, reduce Liverpool’s lead.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Trent Alexander-Arnold - 7 Such a graceful menace high up the right wing for Liverpool. He barely did any defending here but every time he got the ball he whipped it perfectly into the box, giving them a width and range to their attack that few other right-backs provide.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Joel Matip - 6 Barely a day for defending but he did well against Mitrovic and Babel when he had to, and was free to set the tone on the ball, passing it forward briskly, getting things started.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Virgil van Dijk - 5 The best defender in the world made the worst mistake of his life here, misjudging a header back to Allison, getting caught, and seeing Ryan Babel take advantage. Fortunately for Van Dijk, Milner saved the day at the other end soon after. Had Liverpool drawn it would have been agony for a man who has been so important to their success.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Andrew Robertson - 8 Spent the whole game in Fulham’s half and was involved in every attack. With a bit more luck he would have scored and assisted plenty but he had to make do with simply starting the move for Mane’s opener.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Georginio Wijnaldum - 7 Did not have much destructive work to do – Fulham did not have enough of the ball – but he was dangerous going forward and had two opportunities to score. Kept Liverpool moving and on the front foot all afternoon.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Fabinho - 7 So important in games like this, sitting in front of the centre-backs, allowing both full-backs to push forwards and pin Fulham back. With and without the ball he was in complete control of everything he did.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Adam Lallana - 6 Here to make sure that the Liverpool midfield does not lack dynamism, he was as busy as ever, darting around, putting Fulham under pressure, keeping the ball moving. After a long trouble with injuries he certainly gives this team more options.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Mohamed Salah - 6 Maybe he is not on top of his game right now but he is still a scampering threat to any opposition. Fulham tired themselves out just trying to stop him and of course it was his opportunistic shot that Rico spilled to make the penalty to win it.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Roberto Firmino - 6 It only takes him one little opening to make the difference. Here he was, running onto Mane’s pass, stepping over it, passing the ball back, to set up Liverpool’s opener. He did not do too much else but he did not need to.
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Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Sadio Mane - 8 Is Mane the most dangerous player in the world right now? Never let Fulham rest with his running, and scored his 11th in 11 games, with a move entirely of his own making. His powerful dribble, his lay-off to Firmino, his smooth finish. And of course he won the penalty that saved the game.
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“(First is) the best position you can be in. City don’t look as if they drop a lot of points, so we have to win, to win and to win. Now they have a game in hand but it was very important we won. We were really all very happy. You could see in our reaction.
“I didn’t see us panic. I liked how we reacted. The penalty doesn’t say we are sensational. Five or 10 minutes before the equaliser, we had so many little mistakes.
“We controlled the game completely, and then we gave Fulham the ball and the crowd woke up. But we had a very intense week, going to Munich, coming back, travelling to London, so I’m completely fine. Average game, sensational result.”
Klopp was asked whether Jordan Henderson would be fit for England’s Euro 2020 qualifiers with the Czech Republic and Montenegro, given his absence on Sunday with an ankle injury, and he responded: “He will go to the national team. He has two or three days still at Melwood, but it still looks positive.
“When it looks positive and he can train, he will go to the national team. He was not able to play, but it’s not that serious. In three or four days, it should be fine.”
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