"We'll win our final six games" proclaimed Phil Thompson. Not the first time someone from the reds' management team has made such boasts, but let's hope this time there is no egg left on faces. Fulham never looked likely to make Thommo's words come back to haunt him however, and this was a comfortable win for the reds.
With Diouf and Murphy both ruled out through injury, Gerard Houllier decided on the much maligned duo of Emile Heskey and Vladimir Smicer to fill the problem wide midfield positions, and both responded with significant contributions to the victory.
Smicer made both goals and turned in a man of the match performance, whilst Heskey opened the scoring, but otherwise struggled in a right midfield role. Heskey's first touch was poor all day, but won't have been helped by the constant groaning around the stadium every time it happened.
Patience is very thin on the ground for Heskey these days, and whilst it's easy to criticise those who are on his back whilst the game is in progress, it should also be pointed out that Heskey has had terrific backing from Liverpool fans through each and every one of his goal droughts and dips in form. At any other club he would have been booed off the field. A look at the Fulham fans reaction to the substitution of Steve Marlet was evidence enough of that.
This game had a very disctinct end of season feel to it. This campaign started off so well, and with such great expectation. Yet as we approach the business end of the season, we lie sixth in the table, below Everton, and the best we can hope for is to somehow pip Chelsea for fourth place. Not much to get excited about, and quite frankly, it showed in the atmosphere. Or should I say lack of.
Even when Heskey opened the scoring, half of the stadium never even got up out of their seats. I know, because I was one of them. I looked around me, and there were so many people still sat down it was surreal. I don't know why. Personally, I was still in my seat because I was half expecting an offside flag to cut short the celebrations, as it did on four minutes when Owen was denied by the linesman's flag.
Owen was in irresistable form all day, and Fulham's sieve like defence were unable to contain him. Lucky for the Londoners then that keeper Maik Taylor was having one of the games of his life.
First he denied the lively Baros, then he twice prevented the brilliant Owen from notching goals which would have ranked up there with the best he's ever scored. One scintillating run which took him away from four defenders was vintage Michael Owen, and it was a great stop from Taylor. Minutes later, the keeper was forced to dive full length to his left and turn a 20 yard piledriver away for a corner. Owen was proving tough to handle.
Liverpool, although not exactly free flowing, still put together some of their best passing moves of the season, and had Baros managed to convert Smicer's pass, we would have been celebrating one of the greatest goals ever seen at Anfield, as the reds swept the length of the field with some crisp, incisive one touch passing and movement.
Smicer was involved heavily in all the reds' best moves, as was the once again hugely influential Gerrard. Another who contributed greatly to the reds attacking play was Jamie Carragher. It's been very noticeable of late that Carra's attacking play has come on in leaps and bounds, which is bad news for any potential rivals hoping to take his right back spot away.
Top of that list would appear to be Steve Finnan, but on today's evidence the Fulham man will find it difficult ousting 'Carra' from the side. Apparently Finnan is a 'done deal', and the competition for places will no doubt be of great benefit to the reds next season. The Fulham man wasn't especially impressive today however, and it will not have escaped Houllier's notice that Smicer had arguably his best game of the season against Finnan. However, it would be wrong to judge him on one performance.
Steed Malbranque is another who could be plying his trade in L4 next season. The French midfielder has enjoyed a fine season, and is a goal threat as well as a creative player. Quite where he'd fit into the side remains to be seen, but unlike Houllier's other French signings, he is proven at Premiership level. Maybe the penny has dropped?
Like Finnan, Malbranque contributed little to this game, although Fulham did play some pretty football, and had a spell of pressure in the second half which could have yielded some reward. Louis Saha was the main threat, and Djimi Traore had to be at his best to keep the talented forward at bay.
Saha almost ensured an edgy finish to the game, when his blistering drive from the edge of the box smacked the bar with Dudek well beaten. Had that gone in, it would have made for a very nerve wracking finale, given that the reds should have been out of sight by that time.
The reds had created enough chances to have won six games, but struggled to add to Heskey's first half opener. They did eventually manage a second through Owen. Racing onto Smicer's clever pass, Mickey waited for the right moment before sliding the ball under Taylor. It made amends for an awful miss less than sixty seconds earlier, when more great work from Smicer had presented him with a tap in at the Kop end. Owen completely fluffed his shot, but Smicer would ensure he didn't have time to dwell on that miss.
Vladi is a player who comes in for an awful lot of stick. Personally, I like him a lot. I would accept that he's not consistent, and that he can be frustrating at times. But this is a team which lacks flair, creativity, invention etc. Vladi has all of those qualities, and even though he doesn't display them as often as a man of his talent should do, I've got a lot of time for him and it was nice to see him earn a standing ovation when he made way for Bruno Cheyrou - minus the white boots I'm happy to report - in stoppage time.
All in all, this was a very convincing performance by the reds. It should be said however, that Fulham were a very, very soft touch . They play nice football, but have no steel or resilience in the side, and they defended so high up the pitch they were asking for trouble. Baros and Owen could have had three each on another day. But that said, you can only beat what's in front of you, and this was a good day at the office for Liverpool.
Had it not been for the excellence of their keeper, Fulham would have been hammered by five or six. A win of that nature is long, long overdue for the reds, and if they can reproduce this kind of display in the remaining home games with Charlton and Man City, then we may get that elusive big win and end the season on a bit of a high.
Team: Jerzy Dudek, Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypia, Djimi Traore, John Arne Riise; Vladimir Smicer (Bruno Cheyrou), Dietmar Hamann, Steven Gerarrd, Emile Heskey; Michael Owen, Milan Baros:
