Arne Slot admitted he was not used to seeing the volume of mistakes made by his Premier League leaders as a 3-2 defeat at Fulham saw their 26-match unbeaten league run ended.
Despite Alexis Mac Allister‘s sensational opener, Liverpool were handed their second defeat of the campaign, with Fulham responding thanks to goals from Ryan Sessegnon, Alex Iwobi and Rodrigo Muniz.
Substitute Luis Diaz found the net after the break but it was not enough as Liverpool were inflicted their first league loss since Nottingham Forest‘s 1-0 win at Anfield in September.
The result saw the Reds fail to capitalise on closest challengers Arsenal dropping points in their 1-1 draw at Everton on Saturday, missing out on extending their 11-point lead at the summit, with seven matches remaining in the title race.
“It wasn’t 45 minutes of disaster but the errors we made weren’t something that we’re used to and it’s something different,” Slot said.
“It’s disappointed us all, the players and the fans.
“One reason we’re in the position we’re in is because we don’t make a lot of mistakes and if we do, the players try and make up for them.”
After Sessegnon fired Fulham level, Iwobi’s left-footed strike in the 32nd minute took a heavy deflection off Andy Robertson and past Caoimhin Kelleher to complete the turnaround.
Following a turbulent performance against Everton striker Beto in their 1-0 midweek Merseyside derby win, Virgil van Dijk continued to struggle in west London, with Muniz beating him to a high ball and finishing through the goalkeeper’s legs to give Fulham their third.
“For the second goal, instead of the ball going behind, it went into their goal. If you make mistakes [Fulham] have the quality to punish,” Slot added.
“In the second half we made chances and could’ve made up for it, but we lacked time. In the last 25 mins it was clear that we could score a third.
“We have a whole week until West Ham. Everyone needs to be aware that the only way we win is through a constant effort and 90 minutes of hard work.”
The win sees Fulham bounce back from their FA Cup quarter-final exit to Crystal Palace last month and their 1-0 midweek defeat at Arsenal as they move up to eighth in the table.
“It was a great three points for us, I believe we deserved it,” manager Marco Silva said.
“Our first half was at a good level and after a good goal from Mac Allister, we had to be strong, be clever, make some tactical fouls and the reaction was great.
“It was a game where we knew we had to be at a high tempo.”
