What happened at angry Anfield proved Liverpool are hurtling toward inescapable change
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Verdict from Paul Gorst as the Liverpool beat Fulham 2-0 at Anfield thanks to goals from Rio Ngumoha and Mohamed SalahThe legendary figures were serenaded, Mohamed Salah scored and Anfield felt as though it'd been transported back to a happier, more harmonious period at times here.But make no mistake, this 2-0 win over Fulham provided enough evidence to suggest that Liverpool are entering a brand new era later this year.If Salah registering his 256th goal in trademark style was a perfect way to mark his first Anfield appearance since announcing he will leave at the end of the season, there was also the hearty celebration of Andy Robertson, who too confirmed this week that these are his own final knockings.And with Alisson Becker and his creaking muscles resting up on the sideline, Giorgi Mamardashvili's appearance in goal was another nod to the future. He may very well be one on this showing.Ngumoha, who was starting just his second Premier League game, was electric in the first half, dovetailing with Florian Wirtz and Robertson, who is 15 years his senior.
It felt fitting.Barring a famous comeback against European champions PSG on Tuesday night in the second leg of that quarter-final tie, Salah has just four more games at the venue he has lit up these past nine years, so moments like his latest goal here will rightly be cherished. The standing ovation that greeted his departure was deserved too.There are 16 years and 75 days between 33-year-old Salah and his younger team-mate Ngumoha, who doesn't turn 18 until late August, which is the widest age-gap between two Liverpool scorers in the club's entire history.The calls to start Ngumoha more regularly have been aired frequently in recent weeks and they well now become deafening to Arne Slot, who has tried to carefully managed the minutes of the precocious teenager during a troubling period for the team.Slot has been determined not to place too many demands on the shoulders of a player who isn't even around the England Under-21 fringes yet, but performances like this will make selecting him almost irresistible.
He tormented the Cottagers here, but can he now be a genuine option against PSG on Tuesday night?The first sighting of Alexander Isak on the Anfield pitch in four months was also a welcome one for a club who are looking to move past the age of Salah. The £125m striker is clearly still rusty after just a handful of team training sessions since breaking his leg at Tottenham Hotspur before Christmas but this was another important checkpoint for him.But for all the garlands that landed at the feet of Salah and Robertson from the Liverpool fans here, it would be wrong to paint this some sort of legends' love-in.