Fulham 1 Liverpool 2
Midfielder Danny Murphy converted a late penalty to give Liverpool victory over 10-man Fulham at Loftus Road today.
Emile Heskey, who scored twice in Liverpool's 4-3 midweek League Cup win over Blackburn, gave them a 17th minute lead, while French striker Louis Saha levelled for Fulham just before the break.
But the match swung Liverpool's way in the last three minutes when Liverpool's French substitute Florent Sinama-Pongolle was first tripped by Zat Knight for the penalty and later felled by Luis Boa Morte's knee-high challenge, earning the Portuguese forward a red card.
"We kept believing we could get a result and I'm pleased we managed to do it," said Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier.
As for the highly promising Sinama-Pongolle, who turned 19 a fortnight ago, Houllier said: "He's not the finished article by far but he's quick and can score goals. If he hadn't been fouled, I'm sure he would have scored."
For Fulham boss Chris Coleman, whose men beat champions Manchester United at Old Trafford last week and who dominated today's second half, the feelings were easily summed up.
"Disappointed," he told Sky Sports. "It looked liked we were going to get a point and I think that probably would have been a fair result, but that's football."
As for the sending off, Coleman said: "It was a horrendous challenge by Luis Boa Morte. I back up my players every time but he deserved a red card and we were lucky their lad got up and got on with the game because it could have been a lot more serious."
The win moved Liverpool up to seventh place on 17 points, one place behind Fulham, who have 18.