Liverpool issue identified by Virgil van Dijk after honest verdict shared on Mohamed Salah form

Craven Cottage has already been the scene of one of Liverpool's most celebrated occasions this season. Now, as the Reds prepare for their latest Thameside appointment, they are in need of another landmark result.

Jurgen Klopp's side take on Fulham in the knowledge anything but victory would deal a major blow to their hopes of claiming a second Premier League crown of his tenure.

Recent results have changed the mood around Anfield and the fanbase, not least a first home Premier League defeat since October 2022 last Sunday when beaten 1-0 by Crystal Palace. That Arsenal shortly afterwards lost 2-0 at home to Aston Villa only heightened the sense of missed opportunity, those results paving the way for Manchester City to go clear at the summit and become favourites to win a fourth successive title.

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All three contenders, though, this week suffered quarter-final elimination from European competition, City and Arsenal dumped out of the Champions League by Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively while Liverpool failed to recover a 3-0 first-leg deficit in their Europa League return against Atalanta in Italy.

Who deals best with the inevitable fall-out could well determine the destiny of the championship. And while the Reds could at least claim a 1-0 win in Bergamo, it did little to quell the downbeat mood within the squad afterwards.

"We have all the reasons to be disappointed," says captain Virgil van Dijk. "But it’s our own fault. We were very disappointed last week and we made it a big hurdle to overcome. We tried everything - worked, fought - but it wasn’t