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Liverpool’s 26-game unbeaten Premier League run came to an abrupt halt at Craven Cottage as Fulham capitalized on a catastrophic first-half defensive collapse to secure a 3-2 victory.

Despite Alexis Mac Allister’s stunning opener, goals from Ryan Sessegnon, Alex Iwobi, and Rodrigo Muniz within a 14-minute spell exposed rare vulnerabilities in Arne Slot’s side.

Substitute Luis Diaz sparked a second-half resurgence with a clinical finish, but Harvey Elliott’s late strike against the woodwork encapsulated Liverpool’s frustration in a match that narrowed their lead at the summit to 11 points.

Despite the defeat, Liverpool remains overwhelming favorites for the title with an 11-point cushion and seven games remaining.

Arne Slot dismissed suggestions of complacency post-game.

But it was clear the Reds’ defensive structure unraveled spectacularly, with individual errors compounding systemic issues.

Jones, deployed as an emergency right-back for the second consecutive match, struggled against Fulham’s targeted attacks down his flank.

His misjudged knee clearance for Sessegnon’s opener epitomized Liverpool’s disarray, while Robertson’s wayward pass for the second goal highlighted rare lapses in decision-making from experienced campaigners.

Van Dijk, typically a bastion of reliability, was outmuscled by Muniz for the third goal—a moment that saw the Brazilian forward execute a sublime turn before slotting past Caoimhín Kelleher.

However, speaking to the media after the game, Marco Silva admitted that his Fulham side was encouraged to commit tactical fouls in the first half:

“Our first half was a very, very good level in all aspects of the game.

It was a great goal from Mac Allister, but we had to be stronger, and to be clever to make some tactical fouls that we need sometimes in general in football.

“But the reaction was great, all the energy was there.

I said before the game in our preparation that it was a game that would need high energy and high tempo always.

“To be honest, our first pressure was very good.

We always chose the right moment to press.

Most of the time they were under pressure and we kept our block impact.

From the first minute we tried to make an impact.”

He added on the pressure Fulham felt toward the end of the second half:

“It was a great performance first half, but we knew that we had 50-55 minutes left to play and they put us under pressure and when they scored, they are one of the best teams in Europe how they attack when winning the ball.”

“Second half it was more difficult to keep the rhythm high.

They put us more under pressure but until that moment we were the best team by far?