Liverpool vs. Fulham: 3 winners, 3 losers as Palhinha stars in Reds ...

ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL — Liverpool kept their slim hopes of Champions League qualification alive with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Fulham.

Mohamed Salah grabbed the decisive goal, netting from the spot for the second consecutive game after Issa Diop had felled Darwin Nunez in the box.

The hosts largely controlled things from there, though they were left thankful that substitute Bobby Decordova-Reid could only blaze over from close range at the death.

It is a result that moves Jurgen Klopp's side to within four points of the top four, while Fulham remain in 10th.

From a tight affair on Merseyside, here's The Sporting News' three winners and three losers.

Liverpool vs. Fulham winners Mohamed Salah

After back-to-back penalty misses against Arsenal and Bournemouth, Mohamed Salah's position as Liverpool's first-choice taker was thought to be under threat.

Klopp himself admitted that the topic would be up for discussion among the players, while one-time specialist Fabinho was touted by some as a potential successor. 

However, it should not have been expected that Salah would give up a potential source of goals so easily, and he has justified the decision to keep him in post over the last two games.

Having dispatched coolly from the spot against Tottenham Hotspur last time out, the Egyptian repeated the feat in this one. Clearly, Liverpool have their most reliable penalty taker back in business. 

8 - Mohamed Salah has scored in each of his last eight home games in all competitions (9 goals), the longest scoring run by a Liverpool player at Anfield since Luis Suárez in January 2014 (also 8). Kingdom. pic.twitter.com/9G1c1Ytitq

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 3, 2023 Joao Palhinha

There has been talk that Joao Palhinha is one of the players Liverpool are strongly considering as they look to overhaul their midfield this summer.

And, if this was an Anfield audition for the Portuguese, then he could have done little more to convince Klopp of his merits.

Sharp in the challenge and smart on the ball, Palhinha oozed class across the 90 minutes as Fulham more than held their own in the centre of the park.

One particularly eye-catching moment saw him leave Fabinho for dead with a drop of the shoulder, a contribution that may end up working as a neat metaphor in the event Liverpool follow up on their interest.

Darwin Nunez

Having failed to start a game since Liverpool's 0-0 draw at Chelsea on April 4, Darwin Nunez was recalled in his favoured centre-forward role for this one.

And, while the Uruguayan did not manage to grab the goal he will have desperately craved, he will take heart from having been involved in the game's key moment.

Klopp has previously hinted at wanting to see more from Nunez in terms of his pressing, and he provided the perfect response in forcing Diop into a clumsy challenge that brought about the decisive penalty.

The striker will hope that such contributions can provide a springboard to further starts between now and the end of the season.

MORE: Can Liverpool make top four? How Reds can qualify for Champions League

Liverpool vs. Fulham winners Issa Diop

It feels harsh to include Diop in a list of losers on a night in which he and centre-half partner Tosin Adarabioyo were largely flawless.

But then the Frenchman will no doubt be hard enough on himself regarding the hand he played in the decisive moment of this hard-fought match.

It was his lapse in concentration that was punished in the harshest manner as Nunez seized on a loose touch to force the penalty that Salah subsequently dispatched.

At this level, it only takes one moment of madness to define a game, as Diop found out to his cost tonight.

— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) May 3, 2023 Carlos Vinicius

When these two sides met at Craven Cottage on the opening day of this season, Aleksandar Mitrovic proved key to the newly-promoted upstarts terrorising a team that had just come agonisingly close to winning a quadruple.

And the absence of the suspended Serbian was felt all the more in this rematch as a result of the struggles of his replacement, Carlos Vinicius.

Too many times the Cottagers worked the ball into a promising position in the Liverpool half only for the final run or touch to be wrong, and on several occasions Vinicius was to blame.

The striker's disappointing night was summed up when he failed to convert the visitors' best chance after being slipped in by Willian and he was taken off shortly after.

MORE: Harvey Elliott welcoming competition for places ahead of Liverpool midfield overhaul

Kostas Tsimikas

Given that Andy Robertson had struggled against Tottenham last time out, it was little surprise to see Kostas Tsimikas recalled for this one.

However, the Greek will no doubt be frustrated that a rare appearance in the starting XI only lasted until the 66th minute.

If he cannot keep Robertson on the bench for an entire game even in the aftermath of a poor showing, then you wonder about his standing in the squad.

As such, the player himself might consider whether this summer is the right time to move on from Anfield in search of club where he would sit top of the left-back pecking order.