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Liverpool have won 14 and draw two of their home games this seasonLiverpool staged a second-half turnaround to beat Fulham at Anfield in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie.
The visitors had taken the lead in the first half when Willian showed great control inside the area to slot in.
It was no less than Fulham deserved after an impressive first half, but Liverpool stepped it up after the break and fought back with two goals in three minutes.
First, Curtis Jones equalised when his 68th-minute strike from distance took a big deflection off Tosin Adarabioyo to wrong-foot Bernd Leno in the Fulham goal.
Substitute Cody Gakpo then drove in a Darwin Nunez pull-back to send the home crowd wild.
It was the second time in just over a month that Liverpool had denied Fulham success at Anfield. Marco Silva's side had led 3-2 in the final 10 minutes of their Premier League clash on 3 December but lost 4-3.
The two sides will meet again in the second leg at Craven Cottage on Wednesday, 24 January, with Jurgen Klopp's men now in the driving seat as they look to keep alive their hopes of a record-extending 10th League Cup win.
Subs spark Liverpool in second-half recovery
This had the potential to be a tricky game for Premier League leaders Liverpool, who went into the game with a number of key players missing.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was excellent in their FA Cup third-round win against Arsenal at the weekend, is facing a few weeks out with injury, while Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo are away on international duty.
Fulham gave Liverpool a scare at Anfield last month and having come so close to a result on that occasion, they looked determined to cause an upset this time.
They were good value for their 1-0 lead at half-time with the hosts lacklustre and a little disjointed.
But Klopp's side were a different prospect after the break as they pressed much higher up the pitch and when Gakpo and Nunez were introduced midway through the second period, Fulham's defence was unable to cope.
In the end, Liverpool could have won by a bigger margin with the impressive Nunez once again unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet.
It is now 16 games unbeaten at Anfield for the Reds - 14 of those victories - as they once again found the will and a way to extend their dominant record on home soil.
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Liverpool
Squad number62Player nameKelleher- Squad number84Player nameBradley
- Squad number5Player nameKonaté
Squad number4Player namevan Dijk
Squad number2Player nameGomez- Squad number38Player nameGravenberch
- Squad number10Player nameMac Allister
- Squad number17Player nameJones
- Squad number19Player nameElliott
- Squad number20Player nameDiogo Jota
- Squad number7Player nameDíaz
- Squad number9Player nameNúñez
- Squad number18Player nameGakpo
Fulham
Squad number17Player nameLeno
Squad number21Player nameCastagne
Squad number4Player nameTosin
Squad number31Player nameDiop
Squad number33Player nameRobinson
Squad number6Player nameReed
Squad number26Player nameJoão Palhinha
Squad number14Player nameDe Cordova-Reid
Squad number18Player nameAndreas Pereira
Squad number20Player nameWillian
Squad number7Player nameJiménez
Squad number8Player nameWilson
Squad number10Player nameCairney
Squad number28Player nameLukic
Line-ups
Liverpool
Formation 4-3-3
- 62Kelleher
- 84Bradley
- 5Konaté
- 4van DijkBooked at 24mins
- 2Gomez
- 38GravenberchSubstituted forNúñezat 56'minutes
- 10Mac Allister
- 17Jones
- 19ElliottSubstituted forGakpoat 56'minutes
- 20Jota
- 7Díaz
Substitutes
- 1Alisson
- 9Núñez
- 18Gakpo
- 42Clark
- 49Gordon
- 53McConnell
- 63Beck
- 78Quansah
- 98Nyoni
Fulham
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 17Leno
- 21Castagne
- 4Tosin
- 31Diop
- 33Robinson
- 6ReedSubstituted forLukicat 83'minutesBooked at 88mins
- 26João Palhinha
- 14De Cordova-Reid
- 18PereiraSubstituted forCairneyat 72'minutes
- 20WillianSubstituted forWilsonat 72'minutesBooked at 90mins
- 7Jiménez
Substitutes
- 1Rodák
- 2Tete
- 8Wilson
- 10Cairney
- 13Ream
- 19Muniz Carvalho
- 28Lukic
- 30Carlos Vinícius
- 35Francois
Live Text
Match ends, Liverpool 2, Fulham 1.
Second Half ends, Liverpool 2, Fulham 1.
Foul by Conor Bradley (Liverpool).
Antonee Robinson (Fulham) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Cody Gakpo (Liverpool).
Raúl Jiménez (Fulham) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Harry Wilson (Fulham) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Curtis Jones (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Harry Wilson (Fulham).
Foul by Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool).
João Palhinha (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Darwin Núñez (Liverpool) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Conor Bradley.
Sasa Lukic (Fulham) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Darwin Núñez (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Sasa Lukic (Fulham).
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Harry Wilson.
Attempt saved. Darwin Núñez (Liverpool) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Cody Gakpo.
Substitution, Fulham. Sasa Lukic replaces Harrison Reed.
Offside, Fulham. Issa Diop is caught offside.
Foul by Cody Gakpo (Liverpool).
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