Liverpool fans think it’s time to address ‘the elephant in the room’ after first-half horror show vs Fulham

Liverpool fans have been left furious after their side suffered a defensive collapse to go 3-1 down to Fulham at half-time in their Premier League clash.

The Reds took the lead at Craven Cottage through Alexis Mac Allister’s stunning long-range strike.

But Fulham equalised on 23 minutes through Ryan Sessegnon’s third goal in seven matches, before two errors in quick succession from Andy Robertson – including a misplaced cross-field pass attempt to Curtis Jones – allowed Alex Iwobi to make it 2-1.

And Rodrigo Muniz made it 3-1 before half-time after more poor defending from Arne Slot’s side.

Liverpool will end the day at least 11 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal in the table with seven games to play, but some of their performances in recent weeks have been less than convincing.

And Reds fans have called out two players in particular over their first half performances.

Taking to Twitter, one fan wrote: “This is horrifying to watch. Van Dijk a shade of himself since that week where we lost twice.”

Another said: “That [the third goal] was Van Dijk’s fault, didn’t bolster himself and got moved off too easily.”

A third claimed: “Van Dijk against a striker who has any sort of power.”

A fourth, meanwhile, wrote: “Misplaced pass. Misses the header which falls directly to Fulham player. A shocking few seconds for Andy Robertson.”

And a fifth questioned: “Genuinely baffled that a player of Robertson’s experience would play that pass.”

This is the fourth time that Liverpool have conceded three or more goals in a match under Slot – though one of those matches ended in an away win.

The Reds defeated Tottenham 6-3 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December, while they drew 3-3 at Newcastle in one of the matches of the season in the same month.

Their only defeat in such a scenario came in the final group stage match of the Champions League, where a youthful Liverpool side lost 3-2 at PSV.