Mario Lemina’s goal was more than enough to condemn Liverpool to a sixth successive home defeat as Fulham earned a shock 1-0 win that left the champions’ top four bid in turmoil on Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are four points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea, who can extend that lead to seven if they beat Everton on Monday.
That would leave Liverpool with a tough task to qualify for next season’s Champions League through a top four finish.
They could still make it by winning the Champions League, but glory in Europe’s elite club competition is hard to envisage given Liverpool’s steep decline. Fulham easily out-played Liverpool to secure three points at Anfield for the first time in nine years.
Without an Anfield victory since before Christmas, Liverpool are a pale shadow of the team that romped to their first English title for 30 years last season.
They have been destabilised by horrific injury problems in defence, but it was still jarring to see the toothless Reds surrender so tamely once again.
Klopp insists his stars will remain loyal even if Liverpool miss out on a Champions League place, but on the evidence of their latest embarrassment, the Reds boss might need to make significant changes to catch champions-elect Manchester City next term.
With one eye on defending their 2-0 lead in Wednesday’s Champions League last 16 second leg against Leipzig, Klopp made seven changes and fielded a youthful defence featuring Neco Williams, Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips.
