Liverpool suffer sixth straight Anfield loss as Fulham win 1-0

LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) – Liverpool slumped to a sixth consecutive home Premier League defeat as they lost 1-0 to relegation-threatened Fulham after a first-half goal by Mario Lemina at Anfield on Sunday.

The defeat extends their record run of home losses in a row and marks the first time since the 1953-54 season that they have lost that many games at Anfield in a league campaign.

Liverpool stay seventh on 43 points, four points off fourth-placed Chelsea having played a game more. Fulham remain in the bottom three on 26 points after 28 games but now only trail 17th-placed Brighton & Hove Albion on goal difference.

Juergen Klopp made seven changes to the Liverpool side that lost 1-0 at home to Chelsea on Thursday but it made little difference as Lemina outmuscled Mohamed Salah on the edge of the box to take possession before lashing home in the 45th minute.

Liverpool’s fortunes were summed up when unmarked substitute Sadio Mane had a great opportunity to equalise in the 80th but mistimed his downward header and the opening came to nothing.

The hosts had the lion’s share of the ball but yet again they failed to convert it into scoring opportunities as Fulham’s defence worked hard to prevent them from penetrating.

As Liverpool poured forward late on, Joachim Andersen threw himself to block a late Andy Robertson cross and, though the Reds earned a number of set pieces, Scott Parker’s side held on to grab three valuable points in the battle against relegation.

“The second half, you don’t plan it to go like that, but we showed another side to us – character, resilience and doggedness. I’m very proud of the team today,” Parker told Sky Sports.

(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; Editing by Ken Ferris)