Mohamed Salah became just the third player in Liverpool record to score in eight straight home games thanks to a crucial first-half penalty

Liverpool 1, (Penalty by Salah, 39 mins)

Fulham 0

The passion and fervor of Liverpool's most recent victory at home made everything seem pretty dull, but Jürgen Klopp could have appreciated the tranquility of Fulham's visit to Anfield. A fifth straight Premier League victory, Liverpool's greatest run of the season, kept his team's hopes of playing in Europe alive and marked yet another significant turning point in Mohamed Salah's remarkable Anfield journey.

Salah became just the third player in Liverpool franchise to score in eight straight home games with his pivotal first-half penalty, which was given following a minor tackle by Issa Diop on Darwin Nunez. With his most recent goal, Salah moved into fifth place overall on Liverpool's list of all-time league goal scorers, one goal below Steven Gerrard's total of 186 goals throughout all competitions. In addition, he needs just one more goal to reach the 30-goal plateau for the fourth time in his last seven seasons playing for Liverpool.

Carlos Vincius and Bobby Decordova-Reid nearly scored for the visitors, who played great defense but for Diop's reckless error just before halftime, making for a tense conclusion.

The vast majority the public first-choice up line for Liverpool would ultimately have been Salah, Nunez, and Luis Diáz at the beginning of the season, and it was an exciting prospect as well, but it has remained little more than an idea because of a serious knee injury experienced by the Colombian international and a challenging inaugural campaign for the Uruguay striker. The trio only started together five times before to Fulham, and they displayed a mixture of roughness and brief moments of rich promise.

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Although the guests were active on the offensive the entire first half, passing valiantly through midfield and flourishing down their right flank, Liverpool controlled possession from the start. Harry Wilson sprinted clear of a sluggish Kostas Tsimikas, who was playing at left back in place of Andy Robertson, who was out injured, as Tosin Adarabioyo's lofted ball from Fulham gave them their first genuine opportunity. The former Liverpool winger drove his cross past Alisson and toward Carlos Vinicius, but Virgil van Dijk dove in at just the right moment to clear the danger. Another excellent pass out of defense from Adarabioyo gave Vincius a clear view of the goal.

he center forward made a quick spin to avoid Van Dijk on the outside of the box, but the Liverpool goalkeeper deftly deflected his goal-bound shot out.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Salah, and Diáz all came close to starting the scoring from sharp Liverpool raids, but Fulham was handling the pressure with ease till Diop gave the hosts an advantage. Tim Ream's season-ending injury forced the center defense to start, and he took too long to react to an Adarabioyo pass that crossed his penalty area. Nunez had already darted in to grab the ball off Diop's toes when he swiped at a clearing and missed, falling over the challenge.

After VAR confirmed the on-field judgment and referee Stuart Attwell directed to the spot, Salah repeated his penalty kick routine from Sunday's game against Spurs to drive down the middle of Bernd Leno's goal.

Fulham undid 39 minutes of competent, thoughtful work in such a subtle way, but Liverpool eagerly accepted the letter of invitation.

Silva got more frustrated with Fulham's apathetic response to slipping behind, but more so with Liverpool's effort than with any shortcomings on the part of his players. When Fulham tried to create from the back, the home team pressed hard, with Curtis Jones and Jordan Henderson partnering the front three to close off the escape routes. Soon after the break, the Liverpool captain put Nunez through but he missed, then Salah missed after Diaz had found the goal scorer at the end of a smooth run through Fulham's central midfield.

Fulham managed to keep Liverpool out away in the second half, but they lacked the threat of a counterattack that had energized them in the first. However, it came back late when Vincius ran into the penalty area after Willian burst into space along the left and squared to him. He was able to get through Liverpool's defensive line with his first touch, leaving Alisson as his only close-range opponent. Not for the first time this year, the Brazilian star came to his team's help with an outstanding reaction save, blocking Vincius' attempt with a powerful right arm to put Liverpool on track for yet another spirited victory. 

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