THIS time, Jurgen Klopp was the calmest man in Anfield.Well, apart from penalty master-blaster Mo Salah.
A Mo Salah penalty secured Liverpool all three points against FulhamCredit: AP
All eyes were on Liverpool boss Klopp after his wild celebration and subsequent spiky referee comments at the weekend landed him in hot water.
He accused whistler Paul Tierney of having an anti-Liverpool agenda after Sunday’s last-gasp 4-3 win over Spurs and has since been charged, with a lengthy touchline ban possibly in the offing.
Yet here, when lax Issa Diop had gift-wrapped a first-half penalty by bringing down Darwin Nunez, which Salah cannon-balled down the middle, Klopp barely showed any emotion.
The Reds chief kept his head down – literally – as Egyptian king Salah sent his side on the way to their FIFTH successive win in the Premier League.
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Goalkeeper Alisson had a big hand in the victory too, with two fine stops to deny Carlos Vinicius.
The narrow victory has given Liverpool a faint hope of gate-crashing the Champions League after an undeniably poor season, though it is an outside shot at best.
Fourth-placed Manchester United, who have two games in hand, are still four points away.
So it would take a collapse of epic proportions from Erik ten Hag’s side to let in Klopp’s at the back door.
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Liverpool’s more likely euro vision – as the city itself prepares to host the famous Song Contest in ten days’ time – is for the Europa League as their grip on fifth was strengthened.
Klopp said he pulled a hamstring during his raucous celebrations of Diogo Jota’s 94th-minute winner over Spurs which saw him taunt the fourth official and receive a booking from Tierney.
But the Reds chief seemed to be moving fine as he walked off the team bus on arrival at Anfield.
His demeanour on the touchline was relaxed, presumably purposefully, sometimes with his hands in his pockets in his dugout.
Trent Alexander-Arnold looked sky-high on confidence again after claiming assists in each of his last five Premier League games – a feat only beaten by Cesc Fabregas (six) and Mesut Ozil (seven).
It was the creative England right-back who caused a lot of threat early on, having a few potshots from distance.
Yet Fulham had great chances of their own to break the deadlock, first when ex-Red Harry Wilson snuck in but opted to cross rather than shoot.
Then Alisson had to be at his best to pull off a stunning, double-handed stop to deny Vinicius, who had been teed up by Tosin Adarabioyo’s defence-splitting pass.
The strike was the Egyptian’s 99th goal at AnfieldCredit: AP
There really was little in it until Tosin’s centre-back partner Diop had his slack moment with seven minutes to go to half-time.
Tosin had rolled a simple pass to the ex-West Ham man, but inexplicably Diop took too long over meeting the ball, allowing the speedy Nunez to nip in.
Diop, realising his error, swung a wild leg and though he did not seem to make a huge amount of contact, it was enough for ref Stuart Attwell to point to the spot.
Salah had missed two penalties in a row before converting a spot-kick in the thriller with Tottenham on Sunday and there looked to be no chance he would miss here.
The ex-Chelsea man opted for extreme power, firing the ball down the middle, giving Bernd Leno no chance and drawing next to no reaction from Klopp on the sidelines.
Inside the Liverpool boss must have been buzzing though as Salah registered his 29th goal in all competitions this term – not bad given his feats have largely gone under the radar this term.
Salah had a decent chance to double the lead soon after the break when played in by Luis Diaz but ballooned over.
Fulham sparked Liverpool’s sub-par season when they drew 2-2 with the Reds at Craven Cottage on the opening day.
It explained why they did not feel out of it here and boss Marco Silva, once of Everton, urged his team on with a number of attacking substitutions.
They blew their big chance though as Vinicius was denied once again by a firm hand from Brazilian compatriot Alisson, after fine work from another Samba star, Willian.
Klopp made a hat-trick of defensive subs – including taking off Salah – as he looked to see the game out, and it worked.
Liverpool may not be purring like years gone by, but quietly they have been putting this run together as their new-look squad builds for next season.
There is still a slim chance this one could end with Champions League qualification, though as Virgil van Dijk pointed out yesterday: “it’s out of our hands, to be honest. It’s going to be very tough.”
Even for Liverpool, who have a habit of defying the impossible, ousting United or Newcastle would be some feat.
Don’t expect Klopp to keep his cool if they somehow pull it off.
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As three minutes of injury-time ran over, Klopp could not help but have a little look at the fourth official’s watch.
But at full-time the German was calmness personified, embracing opposite number Marco Silva, in a polar opposite finish to the antics of Sunday. More
