AnalysisTrent the tormentor, Jota's century and more talking points from Reds' victory at Fulham
Read our talking points after Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Jota were all on target as Liverpool returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a 3-1 victory at Fulham on Sunday.
The Reds dug deep to record a big result in the capital, which moved them level on points with Arsenal at the top of the table with five games left to play.
Here are five things we noticed at Craven Cottage…
Gravenberch opens his account in style
He’s had to wait a while, but Gravenberch’s first Premier League goal was not only an important one but a superb one too.
The game was evenly poised at 1-1, with Timothy Castagne having cancelled out Alexander-Arnold’s opener before half-time, when the Dutchman received a pass from Harvey Elliott, some 25 yards out.
Gravenberch had plenty of options, but picked the right one as he curled his effort into Bernd Leno’s top left-hand corner to give his side the lead.
They would not surrender it.
Trent torments Fulham again
Alexander-Arnold scored the winner when these two teams met at Anfield back in December, and he was six inches or so away from netting a free-kick too.
The Premier League dubious goals panel would scupper him with that one, but there was no doubt about the effort that gave Liverpool the lead here.
Jota was fouled by Joao Palhinha 25 yards out, and Alexander-Arnold stepped up to whip the ball over the wall and into Leno’s top right-hand corner.
A moment of class, from a world-class player.
Jota hits 100
It was left to Jota to settle Liverpool’s nerves, and to settle the contest.
Played in by Cody Gakpo, 18 minutes from time, the Portugal international was the calmest man in the stadium as he worked the ball onto his left foot and squeezed his shot beyond Leno.
It was the 100th goal of Jota’s English club career, 56 of which have come at Liverpool.
This one felt like a big one.
Rotation does the trick for Klopp
Liverpool’s starting XI here showed six changes from the side that had begun the 1-0 defeat by Crystal Palace last Sunday.
That’s more than Jürgen Klopp has made for any league match this season, but his rotation did the trick as those brought into the team delivered.
Gravenberch and Jota both scored, Elliott finished with an assist, while Jarell Quansah and Wataru Endo were key as the Reds controlled things in the second half.
And when Liverpool got their noses ahead again, Klopp was then able to turn to his bench and unleash the likes of Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister and Darwin Nunez, plus Joe Gomez and Dominik Szoboszlai in the closing stages.
Not a bad set of replacements to have up your sleeve.
Fun on the road for the Reds
They may have lost at Anfield last time out in the Premier League, but Liverpool’s away form has been pretty impressive of late.
The Reds have won seven of their last nine games on the road in the Premier League, which is more than they won in their previous 19 away matches.
They have also scored in each of their last 20 away Premier League matches, the longest current run of any side. In their entire league history, they’ve had one longer away scoring run, netting in 21 in a row between February 1955 and February 1956, when playing in the second tier.
And with three of their remaining five games to be played away from Anfield, that is a positive sign indeed for Klopp and his team.