Who saw this coming? The 27,000 at Craven Cottage certainly didn’t, such was the state of utter stupefaction in the stands on a spring afternoon to remember in south-west London. Fulham were both dazzling and dogged and, indisputably, deserved winners. For Premier League champions-in-waiting Liverpool, though, it was simply a day to forget. One to write off. By extension for their defence, the opening period saw an utter implosion from all corners.
But here’s the thing: it should not matter. Liverpool’s terrific league season so far has given them a huge margin for error. Their 11-point buffer to Arsenal in second with seven matches to go is still a near-insurmountable advantage and it’s extremely feasible that they could still win their second league title in 35 years by the end of the month. But their pride took a hell of a kicking here on the shores of the Thames.
