Andy Hunter at Anfield

Liverpool out of Champions League after loss to PSG Ekitiké carried off with suspected achilles injury Arne Slot once again lamented Liver­pool’s wastefulness in front of goal after they were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain and suffered the added blow of losing Hugo Ekitiké to a potentially serious injury. Liverpool produced a vastly improved second-leg display against the European champions but exited at the quarter-final stage after a 4-0 aggregate defeat. Ousmane Dembélé scored twice late on to extinguish Anfield’s hope of another European comeback.

It felt routine in the end, the imperious champions of Europe through to another Champions League semi-final, Luis Enrique waving politely to the VIPs up in the Sir Kenny Dalglish stand having cavorted around Anfield following Paris Saint-Germain’s victory here last season, and a despondent Mohamed Salah bidding farewell to the Kop after his final European outing in a Liverpool shirt. But this was no routine departure from the Champions League for Liverpool. Having exited the FA Cup quarter-final 4-0 and with a whimper, Arne Slot’s side exited the Champions League quarter-final 4-0 on aggregate but with a fight. For 72 minutes they also had hope, went toe-to-toe with the finest unit in Europe and kept on pressing despite the loss of Hugo Ekitiké to a potentially serious injury and a debatable decision to give – and then take away – a penalty with the capacity to change everything. It will be of little consolation to Slot and his team that, for the second successive season against PSG, taking the fight to Luis Enrique’s champions and putting the fright on them brought no reward at Anfield. The damage inflicted in Paris last week proved irrepairable.

At the end of a stormy week for Arne Slot there was respite in the form of a morale-boosting display from Rio Ngumoha. Liverpool’s 17-year-old winger marked his second Premier League start with an exquisite goal and a key role in the second from Mohamed Salah as the troubled champions celebrated a first league win since February. Liverpool seemed vulnerable after painful cup quarter-final defeats at Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain had intensified the pressure on Slot. The ingredients were in place for Anfield to turn toxic. Fulham never put that fragility to the test. Marco Silva’s team were passive and limited in front of goal while Liverpool, re-energised by the virtuosity of Ngumoha, found the clinical touch and resolve to reach the landmark of 1,500 league wins at Anfield. It was only their second win in six games following a Champions League away trip this season and should restore some confidence before the daunting assignment against PSG on Tuesday. Ngumoha pressed his claims for inclusion from the start.