James Milner penalty hands Liverpool victory over Fulham

Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League on Sunday after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over bottom-of-the-table Fulham.

With Manchester City in FA Cup action on Saturday, Liverpool knew three points would see them leapfrog Pep Guardiola’s men and they were secured thanks to an 81st-minute penalty from substitute James Milner.

A first-half goal from the in-form Sadio Mane had Liverpool in front and in control at half-time, before a horrendous mix up between Virgil van Dijk and Alisson allowed Ryan Babel to score against his old club.

But Milner’s spot kick ensured Liverpool move onto 76 points, two ahead of reigning champions City who have a game in hand.

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The visitor’s left side looked like the most likely route to an opening goal and in the 26th minute it produced for Jurgen Klopp’s team.

Roberto Firmino got in behind the Fulham defence and cut back from the byline for Mane to score from close range. The Senegalese forward continued a sparkling run of form that has now produced 11 goals from his last 11 games.

Liverpool’s marauding left-back Andy Robertson was a constant threat during an uneventful first half and he came close to securing a second goal only to be denied by Fulham goalkeeper Sergio Rico from close range.

But Fulham carried a greater threat in the second half, although their equaliser was entirely of Liverpool’s own making.

Van Dijk made a hash of an attempted header back to the goalkeeper Alisson, who missed the ball completely, allowing Babel to tap into the empty net with just 16 minutes remaining.

But Alisson’s opposite number Rico gifted Liverpool a crucial goal in the 81st minute.

The Spaniard fumbled a shot from Mohamed Salah, allowing the ball to bounce free before tugging down Mane to concede a penalty.

Milner showed nerves of steel to calmly slot the penalty down the middle and hand Liverpool a decisive lead.

The versatile midfielder was relieved to score the winner after playing a part in Fulham’s calamitous equaliser.

“It was me who put him in the mire,” Milner told Sky Sports.

“The gaffer said come on and calm it down, so the best thing to do is slice it over the top and put Virg under pressure, which wasn’t ideal,” the 33-year-old joked. “But lucky enough we got the result and did what we needed to do.

“What’s gone before and I feel that’s probably my fault with the goal as well so it was important I put it away and made up for it. But there’s years of practice gone into penalties and in the game you’ve just got to go back to what you’ve been practising and be calm and know what you’re going to do.”

Van Dijk refused to dwell on his error, insisting three points and a return to top spot is all that matters.

“We won the game, mistakes happen in football,” said the Dutchman. “Obviously a couple of things happened, it it was it is but we go again.

“I’m not giving excuses. I should’ve had it better but it is what it is. They scored but we scored again so we won, we get three points and we go happy and we’re top of the league.”