Fulham manager Marco Silva reacts to his side's 2-0 defeat at Liverpool in the Premier League
Fulham's Portuguese head coach Marco Silva gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Fulham at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on April 11, 2026. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /
Fulham's Portuguese head coach Marco Silva gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Fulham at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on April 11, 2026. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /
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Marco Silva was left to rue five first-half minutes and a big second-half miss after his Fulham side went down 2-0 to Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.
Rio Ngumoha gave Liverpool a deserved 36th-minute lead with a moment of magic before an equally impressive strike from the departing Mohamed Salah in the 40th minute left Fulham with a mountain to climb.
The Cottagers, who knew victory would have taken them within two points of the Reds, did improve after the break and created a number of chances, the best of which fell to Emile Smith Rowe.
But they were unable to take any to the frustration of former Everton boss Silva, whose time in charge at the then Goodison Park club came to and after a 5-2 derby defeat at Liverpool in December 2019.
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He said: "Yes, it's true, the game was decided in five minutes. In my opinion it was decided in that first half, where our approach was not aggressive enough, on and off the ball.
“We gave Liverpool the chance to build up their attack too easily in some moments, not with the right aggressiveness off the ball. That was the reason why they had the chances and they were in command of the game most of the time during the first half.
“And the good example of that is the way they score the first goal - a long ball from the goalkeeper, the way they were able to win that ball in the air, lack of communication between two players, Salah’s first contact on the ball, the way they won the second ball before the great finishing of Rio.
“I think it’s a good example about our approach during that first half that was not aggressive enough for the level of a game in the Premier League, and a game that we wanted to win, and had the ambition to win.
“Second half was completely different – our approach, our aggressiveness on and off the ball. I know that Liverpool was winning the game, but the way we won many balls in our offensive half, we were much more aggressive, we created much more chances as well.
“Of course, we were not ruthless enough, because with a goal we can create a different scenario in the stadium, in the opposition side as well. We got a big chance with Emile to score, and the game is going to be probably different (if it goes in).
“We tried to score the 2-1, but we were not ruthless. Liverpool when they had the chances, first half, they did it, and that made a big impact in the game.
“But our face and our image as a team is much more that second half than the first half. For us to win games and to be fighting for what we want to fight for, has to be much more in the way we played second half than we did first half.”