Liverpool rode a Mohamed Salah penalty kick to three tenuous points and a 1-0 victory over Fulham at Anfield on Wednesday.
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The victory moves Liverpool to within four points of 4th-place Manchester United, though the Red Devils have two games in hand at this point. Despite winning five straight in the PL, all the Reds can do is hope for an almighty collapse by their bitter rivals, or it’ll be the Europa League for Jurgen Klopp and Co., next season.
Fulham (45 points - 10th place), meanwhile, are clinging to their place in the top half of the table, five points above Crystal Palace and six above Chelsea, with four games left to play.
WATCH LIVERPOOL vs FULHAM FULL MATCH REPLAY
Darwin Nunez won the penalty for Liverpool in the 37th minute, when he was cut down by Issa Diop inside the penalty area. Salah smashed the ball straight down the middle and beat Bernd Leno with pure power for his 18th goal of the season. Salah is now just two goals away from three straight 20-goal season, and 20 (or more) goals in five of his six seasons at Liverpool.
Stars of the show
What’s next?
Liverpool will try to keep their faint top-four hopes alive on Saturday (12:30 pm ET), when they welcome Brentford (50 points - 9th place) to Anfield. Fulham will be back in action on Monday (10 am ET), when relegation-threatened Leicester (30 points - 16th place) visit west London.
Liverpool vs Fulham, live score: 1-0
39th minute - Mohamed Salah converts from penalty spot, gives Liverpool 1-0 lead
Mo Salah smashes it home from the spot!
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) May 3, 2023
📺: @peacock | #LIVFUL pic.twitter.com/udaMtmzwjy
How to watch Liverpool vs Fulham live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 3pm ET, WednesdayTV Channel: PeacockOnline: Stream via Peacock Premium
Key storylines & in-form players to watch
Liverpool’s attacking trio of Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota look very dangerous and Klopp has received a huge boost with the return of Diaz from injury. The balance of Liverpool is still off as defensively they are coughing up big chances but it is a case of attack being the best form of defense.
Fulham have some injury issues to contend with and their relatively small squad is being stretched to its limits as they make up plenty of games late in the season. Marco Silva’s side put up a great battle against Manchester City and all season long they have been in games and make it very tough for opponents. Carlos Vinicius scoring against City will give him confidence he can step up in the next few games before Aleksandar Mitrovic returns from his lengthy ban.
Liverpool team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Roberto Firmino (undisclosed), Stefan Bajcetic (undisclosed), Calvin Ramsay (knee), Naby Keita (undisclosed)
🔴 TEAM NEWS 🔴
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 3, 2023
Our line-up to face Fulham tonight in the @PremierLeague 👊#LIVFUL
Fulham team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Aleksandar Mitrovic (suspension – MORE), Layvin Kurzawa (knee), Tim Ream (broken arm), Andreas Pereira (lower leg)
Our #LIVFUL line-up! 📜
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) May 3, 2023
Five changes for this one. 🔄 pic.twitter.com/rk5rUvlpkR