EPL: Ngumoha, Salah fire Liverpool past Fulham

Liverpool ended a miserable sequence of results and returned to the Champions League places with a victory against Fulham in the Premier League at Anfield.

Head coach Arne Slot and his players came under increased scrutiny after they were thrashed by Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-final before producing a cowering performance when losing at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Slot rang the changes, making five ahead of Champions League quarter-final second leg against PSG at Anfield on Tuesday, and was rewarded with an improved display.

Rio Ngumoha and Mohamed Salah, who was dropped in Paris, were in the starting line-up, and both were on target with similar precise curling finishes inside four minutes in the first half.

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Liverpool’s win moves them up to fifth, a position which now qualifies for a place in next season’s Champions League.

The victory came amid protests from Liverpool fans before and during the game, expressing their anger against owners FSG over proposed increases in ticket prices.

Liverpool’s fans needed something to lift their misery after those dismal losses to Manchester City and PSG, as well as mounting discontent over ticket price rises announced by the club’s owners.

The Kop carried an unfamiliar look, with the flags that are such an integral part of Anfield’s atmosphere removed as part of the protest.

And after the game started, a group of fans marched in front of The Kop carrying a large banner emblazoned with the message: “No To Ticket Price Increases”.

It was against this backdrop that Liverpool finally produced something for a fanbase that has watched the champions’ remarkable decline this season to cheer.

And central to that was 18-year-old Rio Ngumoha, who was in dazzling form on Liverpool’s left-flank, crucially producing the opening goal after 36 minutes with a perfect right-foot finish just as Fulham started to threaten.

Mohamed Salah provided a flash of the old magic four minutes later with a carbon copy finish from the other side of the area.

Ngumoha was given a deserved standing ovation when he was substituted after 69 minutes.

Liverpool still face a mammoth task to overturn a 2-0 deficit against PSG on Tuesday, but at least this win will give Slot’s team a much-needed lift in confidence.

(BBC)