Thursday, February 13, 2014

Fulham 2-3 Liverpool: Gerrard seals Reds’ comeback with late penalty

The visitors had twice fallen behind at Craven Cottage to an own goal from Kolo Toure and Kieran Richardson's close-range strike, but Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho restored parity before Gerrard kept his cool from 12 yards in injury time. Steven Gerrard's stoppage-time penalty secured a huge victory for Liverpool in the race for Champions League qualification, as they came from behind to beat Fulham 3-2 at Craven Cottage on Wednesday night.www.topspotafrica.com

Liverpool dominated the second half but fell behind to Richardson's strike shortly after the hour mark, yet Coutinho silenced the home fans on 72 minutes with a curled strike from 20 yards. The away side poured forward in search of a goal and Suarez's low drive from the edge of the box beat the goalkeeper but rebounded off the post. Fulham took the lead in fortuitous circumstances when Toure hacked Richardson's cross into his own goal, but Sturridge levelled shortly before half-time by applying an expert finish to become the first Liverpool player to score in seven consecutive Premier League games.

Fulham made Liverpool pay for that miss by taking the lead for a second time on 63 minutes. Martin Skrtel inadvertently deflected Sidwell's cross into the path of Richardson, who fired home from close range.And there was still time for one last twist as Riether felled Sturridge in the area in the 90th minute, and Gerrard fired into the left-hand corner to secure all three points.


The lead lasted just nine minutes, however, as Coutinho cut in from the right before angling a 20-yard drive into the far corner with his left foot.


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