Marco Silva felt his Fulham side’s reaction to falling behind in the second half cost them dearly in their 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
The Whites reacted well to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick midway through the first half, equalising moments before the interval through Timothy Castagne.
But Jurgen Klopp’s side took control after the break, sealing the win through goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Jota.
“The first half was good, the balance first half…there wasn’t one team on the front foot,” said Silva.
“We knew how they would try and start, and we were solid. It was difficult for us to break and there were not many chances for either side.
“They scored an excellent free-kick and our reaction was good. We had some good moments as well, some counter attacks and open play moments and even under pressure we tried to build up like we usually do.
“It is true that at half-time we think we deserved the equaliser at that moment.
“When you prepare and expect them to start with the same intensity at the start of the second half, that second goal was really hard to take.
“The reaction was not so good. Not like the first-half reaction and it was difficult for us to create chances to equalise.
“The third goal is a moment where we looked a bit soft in the challenge. Our defenders should be much stronger.
“The way we concede the second and third goals was hard for us and something we need to learn from in the future. Because after that it was difficult to react.”
Fulham have failed to beat Liverpool across four meetings in league and cup this season, but this was their first defeat to the Reds by more than a single goal since returning to the Premier League in 2022.
Despite Silva’s side rarely looking likely to force a way back into the game in the second period, the Whites head coach still felt his team caused the title-chasers problems.
“The first half was more or less the same direction as the last three or four games against them,” he said.
“They scored with a great free-kick, we reacted and scored a great goal. It was the same direction.
“The second half was not the same level as when we normally play against them.”
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