2025: Not for the first time tonight, Luis Suarez ghosts into the area – this time after escaping Brede Hangeland down the left. He closes in on goal but gets his finish all wrong as he tries to clip the ball past Mark Schwarzer at his near post. Moments later, Suarez is at it again, down the right-hand flank this time. He pulls it back for Maxi Rodriguez but the Argentine winger is wildly off target with his first-time shot. I’m not kidding – Liverpool could and should be five or six goals up.
mikehutchings9 on Twitter: “Seriously what has Kenny done to Liverpool!? In 6 months we’ve gone from no hope to a team that could win a lot next season!”
OptaJoe on Twitter: “9 – Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt has scored nine Premier League goals in his last eight appearances. Machine.”
2020: I am not exaggerating when I say that Liverpool look like scoring every time they come forward. So far, they have done.
Liverpool goal: Oh dear, oh dear (if you are a Fulham fan). Oh my life (if you are a Liverpool fan). The goals keep coming but this one is all about a terrible, terrible error by Cottagers keeper Mark Schwarzer, who lets Dirk Kuyt’s speculative shot from the left-hand corner of the area slip past him at his near post. A horrible goal to concede, but Kuyt won’t care – he has now scored in five consecutive games, becoming the first Liverpool player to do so for a decade. This is turning into a rout.
2016: GOALFLASH Fulham 0-3 Liverpool (Kuyt)
2015: Fulham manage their best spell of possession of the match, but it ends with a massive shout for a Liverpool penalty. Moussa Dembele mis-kicks when he shoots on the edge of the Reds box and the ball is hoofed forward for Luis Suarez to chase. Brede Hangeland appears to shove him over as he shapes to shoot, but referee Lee Mason waves Liverpool’s appeals away.
Avant77 on Twitter: “Wow, Liverpool look awesome. Hounding down the Fulham players. They might just want to get back on that perch next season.”
2011: Fulham just haven’t settled yet. Liverpool are hustling them out of possession all over the pitch, and then pouring forward. The home side need to take the sting out of this game, if they can.
Liverpool goal: Incredible. There is just no stopping Liverpool or Maxi Rodriguez right now. This time Glen Johnson surges down the right and his lofted cross finds Maxi arriving at the back post to smash the ball past Mark Schwarzer with a first-time finish. That is his sixth goal in the last three game. Fulham are simply shell-shocked.
2006 GOALFLASH Fulham 0-2 Liverpool (Maxi Rodriguez)
2006: Liverpool’s goal came after just 31 seconds. So much for Fortress Craven Cottage…
2005: Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy looks pumped tonight against his old club and is quickly in referee Lee Mason’s book for a late lunge on Lucas. Murphy is in Mason’s face soon afterwards with some backchat, and is a bit lucky not to get a second yellow in quick succession.
Liverpool goal: Wow. Some start at the Cottage. Luis Suarez escapes down the left and his low cross takes a deflection off Carlos Salcido and brings a scrambling save from Mark Schwarzer, who manages to divert the ball away from the corner of the net and Dirk Kuyt, but into the path of Maxi Rodriguez who slots it into the opposite corner.
2001: GOALFLASH Fulham 0-1 Liverpool (Maxi Rodriguez)
2000: Here we go. Fulham get us started.
dunnwilson on Twitter: “Liverpool just want to win tonight so that they finish above Everton. We can find a way to get out of the Europa league later.”
GordonBaisley on Twitter: “Big fan of King Kenny but hope Fulham thump ’em in tribute to Roy Hodgson. Most LFC fans were down on him from the word go.”
1957: Ah, slight correction to 1942. Actually this is Dalglish and Hughes’ first managerial meeting….
since January. Not such a long wait then, really. Anyway, moving swiftly on – here come the teams, marching out as the sun sets at Craven Cottage.
From Lewis in Cardiff, via text: “Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t Fulham have an excellent chance of Europa League qualification through the fair play system??”
Yep, the Cottagers currently sit second in the Premier League Fair Play table and, if they stay there, will qualify for Europe if England, who are also currently second, finish in the top three countries in Uefa’s Fair Play League… Fair to say the Cottagers would love to be involved again?
AlexWilson1992 on Twitter: “Re 1909. I’m desperate to see Fulham qualify for the Europa League via the Fair Play table but its obvious that only teams who have no chance of Champions League football want it.”
BenBo92 on Twitter: “Re 1909. To question whether Liverpool want to qualify for the Europa League is laughable. Liverpool excel in Europe & strive for it.”
mckenny2k4 on Twitter: “Re 1909. The more football the starting XI play, the stronger the club will get. Europa League is a must for the Reds!”
From Billy at Craven Cottage, via text: “Standing as the Liverpool faithful pour in to the ground. Everyone appears confident, clearly due to the impact that The King has made…
1942: Mark Hughes and Kenny Dalglish had some titanic clashes during their playing days, but tonight is their first managerial meeting.
Infostrada Sports tell me that Hughes scored five Premier League goals (and plenty more in the old Div One and cup competitions) against Liverpool during his playing career – the most he scored against any club – but Fulham have have failed to score in six of the last seven top-flight matches against the Reds, including their last two meetings.
1936: And here’s what Dalglish thinks, when asked whether being in the Europa League next season might damage his side’s Champions League prospects: “I find it very difficult to predict the future. We’ve always said we would get our reward at the end of the season – we never set ourselves any target. We don’t have that (Europa League) problem yet and so until it arises we don’t have to solve anything – the biggest problem I have is Fulham. There will be problems to be solved at the end of the season and if we get the Europa League that will be one of the problems.”
FULHAM v LIVERPOOL TEAM NEWS
Sam Sheringham reports: “Jamie Carragher makes his 666th Liverpool appearance, taking him above Ray Clemence into second on the all-time list. The Reds are unchanged, with striker Andy Carroll not considered fit enough to travel as he battles a knee problem. Fulham make three changes to the side which beat Sunderland 3-0 with Clint Dempsey and Brede Hangeland returning from injury and illness respectively, and Moussa Dembele preferred to Bobby Zamora up front.”
From Sam in Milton Keynes, via text: “Re 1909. Europe for Liverpool is a must! The club needs it and we can always use it as an opportunity to give our exciting youngsters some valuable experience. The king won’t settle for sixth.”
richplatt on Twitter: “Re 1909. If Liverpool qualify for the Europa League, I would want to register the youth squad for experience and leave the 1st eleven to win the league!”
sparrowredhouse on Twitter: “Re 1909. Europa league is a good chance to blood in the academy kids. That said, Kennys ‘in at the deep end’ approach seems to work too.”
OptaJoe on Twitter: “6 – Fulham have kept six clean sheets in their last seven Premier League games at Craven Cottage. Statuesque.”
1927: It’s not just me slating the Europa League by the way… Here’s what Redknapp had to say: “Teams who get into the Europa League want to get out of it. Half of them put reserve teams out in the early stages and it’s difficult to play every Thursday and Sunday. It disrupts things. We didn’t have European football last year and we finished fourth. That was a big advantage to us. If there are teams around you in the Europa League, you want to keep them in it.”
1924: The form they are in, Liverpool fans probably wish it was August, not May… but surely the Reds’ run bodes well for next season? It’s the same for Fulham too – another side finishing with a flourish. Much to look forward to tonight too, but it won’t be the same if you lot don’t get involved.
I’m Chris Bevan, and you can tweet me at
@chrisbevan_bbc using the hashtag
#BBCFootball please. Or feel free to text me via
81111 (UK) instead.
1920: BREAKING LIVERPOOL TEAM NEWS
As you can see from the line-ups below, Andy Carroll is not fit enough to make the Liverpool squad tonight, and has not travelled to Craven Cottage. More on both teams in just a jiffy.
Fulham v Liverpool line-ups
Fulham: Schwarzer, Baird, Hughes, Hangeland, Salcido, Davies, Murphy, Gudjohnsen, Sidwell, Dempsey, Dembele. Subs: Stockdale, Johnson, Senderos, Etuhu, Kakuta, Zamora, Greening.
Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Flanagan, Maxi, Spearing, Lucas, Meireles, Suarez, Kuyt. Subs: Gulacsi, Cole, Kyrgiakos, Wilson, Poulsen, Shelvey, Robinson.
Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)
FULHAM v LIVERPOOL (2000 BST)
Sam Sheringham reports: “Kenny Dalglish takes his resurgent Liverpool side to Craven Cottage in search of a victory that would boost their chances of a spot in the Europa League ahead of next weekend’s showdown with Spurs. But Fulham are also in great form, having won six of their last seven home games to climb into mid-table respectability. Liverpool will be eager to avoid a repeat of last season’s disastrous visit to the Cottage, when they lost 3-1 and had two men sent off.”
1912: Yep Kenny Dalglish takes his revitalised Reds to Fortress Craven Cottage this evening to take on in-form Fulham. A win for Liverpool would see them leapfrog above Tottenham into fifth place, and that coveted (cough) Europa League spot. Those two sides play each other on Sunday… a case of loser takes all, or is that a bit unfair on the Europa League?
Fulham certainly enjoyed themselves when they were in it last year…
1909: Judging by what Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp
said over the weekend, he would rather miss out on Europe altogether than qualify for next season’s Europa League. How keen are Liverpool on more Thursday night action? We might just find out tonight…
