LONDON: Liverpool slumped to just their second Premier League defeat of the season as Fulham struck three times in 14 first-half minutes to boost their own European ambitions with a 3-2 win on Sunday.
Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Everton on Saturday left Liverpool needing just 11 points from their final eight games to secure a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title.
Arne Slot’s men were unbeaten in 26 league games and looked set to take another step toward the title when Alexis Mac Allister’s stunning strike opened the scoring.
But poor defending allowed Ryan Sessegnon, Alex Iwobi and Rodrigo Muniz to turn the game around for Fulham.
Liverpool still enjoy an 11-point lead at the top with seven games remaining.
Victory lifts Fulham to eighth and within three points of the top five, which is almost certain to be enough for a place in next season’s Champions League.
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 quickfire 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.
It was not until Slot turned to his bench to introduce Luis Diaz, Connor Bradley and Harvey Elliott that the visitors sparked into life.
Mohamed Salah has not scored in his last four league games and wasted a big chance to break that drought when he turned Diaz’s inviting cross over.
Bradley teed up Diaz to find the bottom corner and set up a grandstand finish 18 minutes from time.
Elliott hit the bar against his former club as Liverpool pushed for an equalizer.
Fulham, though, stayed strong to see out six minutes of added time and delay Liverpool’s title celebrations.
Fulham end Liverpool unbeaten league run to delay title party
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Fulham end Liverpool unbeaten league run to delay title party
- Arne Slot’s men were unbeaten in 26 league games and looked set to take another step toward the title
- Liverpool still enjoy an 11-point lead at the top with seven games remaining
France qualify for 2026 World Cup; Ronaldo sent off as Portugal lose to Ireland
- Two goals from star striker Mbappe helped two-time champions France to qualify with a 4-0 home win against Ukraine on Thursday
- Ronaldo will serve a mandatory one-game ban imposed for any red card when Portugal play Armenia
- Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway moved closer to qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 by beating Estonia 4-1 in Oslo
LONDON: Kylian Mbappe and France are going to the 2026 World Cup. And Cristiano Ronaldo might be banned from Portugal’s first game there if his team finally win their European qualifying group.
Two goals from star striker Mbappe helped two-time champion France to qualify with a 4-0 home win against Ukraine on Thursday. But Ronaldo was ejected for the first time in his international career and Portugal will have to wait until Sunday to secure a qualifying spot for the seventh straight time after it was stunned 2-0 by Ireland in Dublin.
Midfielder Michael Olize and substitute forward Hugo Ekitike added the other goals in a dominant second half from France, the World Cup runner-up in 2022.
Mbappe sent the penalty straight down the middle to break the deadlock in the 55th minute before Olize turned inside the penalty area to curl home the second goal in the 76th at Parc des Princes in western Paris. Mbappé poked in France’s third goal from close range in the 83rd following a goal-mouth scramble. Mbappe moved onto 55 goals and just two behind Olivier Giroud as France’s all-time top scorer.
“The French national team will always be better with him in it,” coach Didier Deschamps said about Mbappé. “He makes things easier for us. He performed his role perfectly this evening, as both a player and the captain of the national team.”
Mbappe went close to a hat trick moments later but blazed over after going clean through.
France have won Group D with 13 points, Ukraine and Iceland are tied on seven points and will play for second place when they meet on Sunday.
Ronaldo’s 1st international red card
Portugal will host last-place Armenia in the final qualifying game on Sunday, when Hungary host Ireland at the same time.
Portugal top Group F with 10 points, two ahead of Hungary. Ireland are third with seven points.
Ronaldo was sent off for elbowing Ireland defender Dara O’Shea on the hour. The referee issued a yellow card but minutes later upgraded it to red after a video review.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said he thought the ejection was “a bit harsh,” pointing out that Ronaldo “has never been sent off before in 226 games.”
Ronaldo will serve a mandatory one-game ban imposed for any red card when Portugal play Armenia. FIFA disciplinary rules require its judges to impose a ban of “at least two matches for serious foul play.”
Troy Parrott put the hosts ahead with a close-range header following a corner kick in the 17th minute against the run of play with Portugal dominant. Parrott added his second in the final minute before the break, beating Diogo Costa with a low shot from inside the area.
Haaland’s double
Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway moved closer to qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 by beating Estonia 4-1 in Oslo.
The win virtually secures a spot for the high-scoring Norwegians in next year’s tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Italy had to rely on late goals from Gianluca Mancini and substitute Francesco Pio Esposito to win 2-0 at Moldova and is second in Group I, trailing leader Norway by three points.
Italy will likely have to settle for the playoffs where the four-time World Cup champions were eliminated in the past two editions. They host Norway on Sunday and would have to win by a nine-goal margin to directly qualify because of Norway’s vastly superior goal difference.
Haaland has scored 14 of Norway’s European-best 33 goals in seven group-stage games. The Manchester City striker was born two years after Norway last reached the World Cup.
Still perfect England
Already-qualified England continued to cruise.
They beat Serbia 2-0 at Wembley Stadium to keep a perfect record in Group K and are yet to concede a goal.
Bukayo Saka fired England ahead on a rebound with a left-foot volley in the 28th after an initial shot by Nico O’Reilly was blocked. Substitute forward Eberechi Eze added the second in the 90th off a pass from another substitute, Phil Foden.
Albania beat Andorra 1-0 in the same group to secure the runner-up spot.
