Since Marco Silva’s Fulham team could have won two big games at Anfield in five weeks, they could have made history.
Cody Gakpo came off the bench to score and turn the Carabao Cup semi-final on its head Credit: Getty
His smart near-post finish came three minutes after Curtis Jones levelled
Instead, they were just the most recent team to fail in front of the Kop.
Last month, Fulham threw away a 3-2 lead at Liverpool in the Premier League by giving up two goals in the last 80 seconds. Tonight, they did the same thing.
But in this case, they might have lost their chance to make it to the Carabao Cup final.
Curtis Jones’ deflected strike drew Liverpool level
But in a lot of ways, this was even worse because Fulham made things hard for themselves while they were defending so well and looking scary when they went on the attack.
Willian tucked in at the near post after Virgil van Dijk’s error
Even though they were ahead after Willian scored, they gave up two goals in 102 seconds. Curtis Jones tied the game with a shot that hit Tosin Adarabioyo and bounced back into the goal.
Then, when the crowd thought there was a chance for another comeback, Darwin Nunez set up Cody Gakpo to score a second goal.
The boss, Silva, looked very angry before the two goals. At 1-0, Bobby Decordova-Reid should have squared the ball for Andreas Pereira to easily tap it in.
Instead, Decordova-Reid’s shot was saved, and Liverpool, who had four strikers after their subs, took advantage of the guests’ bad decisions.
Of course, the West London team is still alive and well.
Liverpool seemed eager to score more goals, but at least they did not let any more slip.
An unlikely final between Fulham and Middlesbrough is possible. It would be a jab at people who think all cup games should involve “big teams,” which is not the case.
On the other hand, a final between Chelsea and Liverpool seems most possible, even though Mauricio Pochettino’s Stamford Bridge team has been inconsistent.
Jurgen Klopp will be pleased, especially since he has a long list of injuries.
Still, missing ten players would hurt any boss, even if they had a big team, and Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mo Salah were both out for Liverpool.
The German coach made the choice to rest goalkeeper Alisson, which meant that Liverpool were missing a whole team.
Still, things looked like they were going as usual as Liverpool gave Fulham some early trouble.
Tosin made a mistake in defense, which led to Curtis Jones’s weak shot. Diogo Jota’s shot went just wide of the goal.
But when Fulham attacked towards the Kop, they scored on their first real attempt, which quieted the home crowd.
Virgil van Dijk sent in a weak shot on the edge of his box while Raul Jimenez was pressing him. Pereira then cut the ball back to Willian, who still had a lot of work to do.
Willian, on the other hand, skipped past young right back Conor Bradley, danced around Ibrahima Konate, and then shot through Van Dijk’s legs and past Caoimhin Kelleher.
The goal did not make Liverpool play faster; instead, it gave Fulham some control over the game, and they looked much stronger after they took the lead.
After putting his hand in Pereira’s face, Van Dik only got a warning. You thought the Fulham midfielder should have been punished for shambolically falling to the ground and then saying he needed medical help.
At the end of the first half, Joe Gomez missed the goal with a shot, and at the start of the second half, Ryan Gravenberch did the same thing.
Fulham still attacked, though, and Silva was clearly furious with Decordova-Reid for shooting instead of setting Pereira up. This was the moment that changed everything.
Jurgen Klopp showed his passion on the sidelinesCredit: Reuters
Bernd Leno denied Darwin Nunez from making it 3-1Credit: Reuters
Fulham are still in the tie taking it back to West LondonCredit: Rex
Bernd Leno, the goalkeeper for the visiting team, had only had to save a cross-shot from Alexis Mac Allister.
However, on their next attack, which was sparked by Jota’s hard work, Jones’ shot from outside the area hit Tosin, who had turned his back on the shot.
Soon after, Nunez, who made a big difference by coming on, set up Gakpo for the second goal.
Liverpool missed some late chances, so this loss is bad for Fulham. However, it could have been worse.
And Silva’s team still has a chance, even if it does not look likely right now, to win the club’s first big trophy.