After triumphing over Manchester United last week, many thought Liverpool would kick on and turn their season around. They travelled to London however without key players, Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger amongst them. Andriy Voronin, Phillip Degen and Sotirios Kyrgiakos replaced them.
Liverpool started brightly and carved open an opportunity as early as the second minute, but Andriy Voronin was unable to set himself and rather than going head for goal knocked it back, but there was no support. The Reds continued to pass the ball well and were in complete control, but for all their possession didn't threaten the Fulham goal. Their first attempt at goal came in the 21st minute when Yossi Benayoun's thunderous shot rattled off the crossbar.
Fulham Punish Liverpool
In the 24th minute Liverpool were caught off-guard and against the run of play Fulham took the lead. The home side mounted a swift counter-attack resulting in Damien Duff finding Zamora unmarked in the middle to slot the ball past the helpless Pepe Reina.
Liverpool continued to labour without posing a threat, but were rewarded for their possession in the 43rd minute. A gradual build up was half cleared and when the ball fell to Fernando Torres on the edge of the area, the Spaniard buried a half chance into the bottom corner with his first sight of goal.
The second-half continued in the same vain as the first with the visitors having all the possession without creating a goal scoring opportunity. Fulham felt they had a good shout for a penalty when Zamora was shielded away from the ball and went tumbling in the box. It was a big decision for referee, Lee Mason, but video replays confirmed he was right to wave away Fulham appeals.
Then, with a little over an hour played and the game there for the taking, Benitez made a controversial change, withdrawing Torres for Ryan Babel. The decision was greeted with jeers from the travelling fans and an air of optimism by the Fulham players. Ten minutes later the Cottagers had restored their lead. Kuyt gave the ball away to Paul Konchesky who crossed to the back post for Zoltan Gera to head into the path of Erik Nevland for a simple finish.
From Bad to Worse for Liverpool
Five minutes later things got worse for the Reds when Phillip Degen was dismissed for a lunge on Clint Dempsey. It was a fifty-fifty challenge and nothing more than a yellow, but the referee saw fit to produce a straight red. Two minutes later, Liverpool were down to nine. Zamora got on the wrong side of Jamie Carragher forcing the Liverpool defender to bring him down. The stand in Liverpool captain was the last man and left the ref with no other option but to show red.
Fulham made the most of their two man advantage and carved Liverpool open with three minutes remaining. Nevland showed good footwork on the edge of the area before sliding the ball into Dempsey's path to calmly slot past Reina and wrap up the points.
Benitez' decision to remove Torres and later Benayoun will attract a lot of criticism from angry Liverpool fans, though the players failure to make the most of their possession have to hold their hands and say 'we must do better.'
Teams
Fulaham: Mark Schwarzer, Paul Konchesky, John Pantsil, Brede Hangeland, Chris Baird, Aaron Hughes, Damien Duff (Erik Nevland 45), Clinton Dempsey, Jonathan Greening, Diomansy Kamara (Zoltan Gera 45), Bobby Zamora
Subs: Pascal Zuberbuhler, Stephen Kelly, Chris Smalling, Zoltan Gera, Bjorn Helge Riise, Dickson Etuhu, Erik Nevland
Liverpool: Jose Reina, Phillip Degen, Jamie Carragher, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Emiliano Insua, Javier Mascherano, Lucas Leiva, Dirk Kuyt (Daniel Ayala 83), Yossi Benayoun (Nathan Eccleston 77), Andriy Voronin, Fernando Torres (Ryan Babel 63)
Subs: Gulacsi, Andrea Dossena, Daniel Ayala, Jay Spearing, Damien Plessis, Nathan Eccleston, Ryan Babel
Goals: Bobby Zamora 24, Fernado Torres 42, Zoltan Gera 74, Clinton Dempsey 87
Yellow Cards: Chris Baird (54)
Red Cards: Phillip Degen (79) Jamie Carragher (82)
Referee: Lee Mason
Attendance:
