Liverpool suffered their second English Premier League defeat of the season on Sunday as Fulham stunned them with a 3-2 victory, capitalising on a blistering 14-minute spell in the first half.
Meanwhile, Southampton were relegated after suffering a 3-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Everton on Saturday meant Liverpool needed just 11 points from their remaining eight matches to secure their 20th English top-flight, which could equal a record.
Liverpool initially looked set for victory after Alexis Mac Allister’s brilliant strike put them ahead. However, poor defending allowed Fulham to take control of the match, with goals from Ryan Sessegnon, Alex Iwobi, and Rodrigo Muniz turning the game around in quick succession.
Despite the loss, Liverpool retains an 11-point lead at the top of the Premier League with seven games remaining. The win propels Fulham to eighth in the standings, just three points behind the top five, putting them in contention for a Champions League spot next season.
Despite a stellar first season under Slot, Liverpool have shown signs of slowing down in recent weeks and came off the rails in west London. After a Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain and League Cup final defeat to Newcastle, Liverpool edged out Everton 1-0 in a feisty Merseyside derby on Wednesday to get back to winning ways. But the Reds appear to be running out of steam after challenging in four competitions for most of the season.
Mac Allister’s blistering long range strike into the top corner after 14 minutes gave Liverpool the dream start. The Reds wilted in the Craven Cottage sunshine, with a series of individual errors leading to Fulham’s three quick goals.
Curtis Jones, deputising out of position at right-back, failed to control Andreas Pereira’s cross and the ball fell kindly for Sessegnon to fire home his third goal in five games. Andy Robertson then had a nightmare for Fulham’s second. The Scotland captain gave away possession deep in Liverpool territory, then could only head an attempted clearance into the path of Iwobi, whose shot deflected in off Robertson. The normally unflappable Virgil van Dijk was at fault for the third as Muniz outmuscled the Dutchman and produced a brilliant low finish under Caoimhin Kelleher. Diogo Jota was denied by Bernd Leno early in the second half with a big chance to reduce Liverpool’s deficit.
Meanwhile, Southampton were relegated from the Premier League in record-setting time after a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham on Sunday ended their brief stay in the top-flight.
Brennan Johnson struck twice in the first half and Mateus Fernandes’s late reply was too late to stop bottom of the table Southampton crashing back to the Championship.
Beaten for the 25th time in 31 games, Southampton are the first Premier League team to be relegated with seven matches still to Ipswich and Derby were relegated with six games left in 1994-95 and 2007-08 respectively.
