Ngumoha and Salah find the net as Liverpool defeat Fulham to strengthen fifth place standing

Pre-match talk was largely focused on the announcement that Andrew Robertson will depart at the seasons end, and he created an early opening for the Reds.

Wilson made a superb block to deny his shot from distance, moments later Salah, another player set to leave soon, forced a strong save from Bernd Leno with an effort from a difficult angle.

The pressure mounted on Fulhams defence and it nearly paid off around the 20 minute mark as Cody Gakpo fired just past the upright from outside the box.

Fulham gradually gained confidence in the first half and posed more danger later on, with Giorgi Mamardashvili in the Liverpool net making fine stops against efforts from Alex Iwobi and Oscar Bobb, before Harry Wilson lifted a shot over the bar.

Those opportunities went to waste just before the interval, as Rio Ngumoha weaved through defenders in the box before curling a brilliant finish into the top corner.

Salah added to Fulhams woes right before the break too, finishing coolly in similar fashion to give Marco Silvas side a tough task in the second half.

Silva responded with a pair of substitutions at the break, bringing on Sasa Lukic and Emile Smith Rowe, and Lukic thought he had scored early in the second period only for an offside call to rule it out.

The visitors generated some promising attacks, including a clear header from Rodrigo Muniz off a free kick that Florian Wirtz cleared off the line.

Fulham kept pressing from set pieces and nearly scored again when Joachim Andersen rose well at the back post but nodded Wilsons cross narrowly wide.

Smith Rowe missed a great opportunity to pull one back by turning a close range shot wide, which turned out to be Fulhams final major threat as they suffered their ninth away league loss this campaign.

Liverpool on the other hand head into their upcoming UEFA Champions League clash with PSG in good spirits, needing another strong result to keep their progression hopes alive.