Jimmy Bullard, a thorn in Liverpool's side for so much of this frustrating Anfield afternoon, always seemed destined to have the final say, off the field if not on it.
As Liverpool's £50 million strikers, Robbie Keane and Fernando Torres, struggled to carve out chances against an impressively resilient Fulham, Bullard appeared the visitors' best hope of an unlikely victory.
Bullard's first-half strike, after good approach play from Bobby Zamora, forced a fine reflex save from Jose Reina, for example, but it was after the contest that the Fulham midfielder really let loose.
First, angered by what he viewed as an attack by Torres on his team-mate John Pantsil, Bullard vented his feelings at the Spanish striker on the final whistle, making a "yapping" gesture with his hand. Then Bullard, having played a key role in denying Liverpool their opportunity of moving two points clear of Chelsea at the top of the table, predicted that the London club would deny the Merseysiders in their quest to end a 19-year wait for the title.
"Who do I think will win the league? Chelsea, and I think they'll do it comfortably this year," said Bullard. "Liverpool do have an outstanding squad of individuals, it's awesome. But sometimes it's not about individual players, it's about the team.
"They're still up at the top and a very organised side. They made it hard to play but we were exceptional today and it might have looked a tad easier than usual because of that." As for the verbal altercation with Torres, Bullard said: "I just felt he had butted John and I wasn't happy that someone had done that to one of my team-mates. We're not making a thing of it, it happens. But I wouldn't have done it if that had been Duncan Ferguson – I'd have been nowhere near!"
Bullard's irrepressible personality and good humour summed up the spirit in a Fulham side that came to Anfield with just one away point all season and having failed to win any of their previous 27 visits to the ground.
Yet, Roy Hodgson's players appeared to play with more belief, confidence and camaraderie than did the hosts. Rafael Benitez has spoken so frequently and with such passion about the negative impact that travel for international football has on domestic performances that numerous sub-par Liverpool displays had the air of self-fulfilling prophecy on Saturday.
Benitez's concerns about travel fatigue also explained why he left Xabi Alonso on the bench for 64 minutes even though the pattern of the game – not to mention The Kop – were crying out for his talents.
In contrast, Hodgson pointed out that three of his most impressive performances came from goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and defenders Pantsil and Brede Hangeland, who spent the week travelling to and from Bahrain, Ghana and the Ukraine, respectively, on international duty.
"You can see that we didn't have enough quality on the ball and we didn't have enough energy," said Benitez. "We were giving it away and losing every challenge.
"You have to be strong to win this league, although you can say the same about Chelsea. Some days you have a bad day and today was a bad day."
As Liverpool's £50 million strikers, Robbie Keane and Fernando Torres, struggled to carve out chances against an impressively resilient Fulham, Bullard appeared the visitors' best hope of an unlikely victory.
Bullard's first-half strike, after good approach play from Bobby Zamora, forced a fine reflex save from Jose Reina, for example, but it was after the contest that the Fulham midfielder really let loose.
First, angered by what he viewed as an attack by Torres on his team-mate John Pantsil, Bullard vented his feelings at the Spanish striker on the final whistle, making a "yapping" gesture with his hand. Then Bullard, having played a key role in denying Liverpool their opportunity of moving two points clear of Chelsea at the top of the table, predicted that the London club would deny the Merseysiders in their quest to end a 19-year wait for the title.
"Who do I think will win the league? Chelsea, and I think they'll do it comfortably this year," said Bullard. "Liverpool do have an outstanding squad of individuals, it's awesome. But sometimes it's not about individual players, it's about the team.
"They're still up at the top and a very organised side. They made it hard to play but we were exceptional today and it might have looked a tad easier than usual because of that." As for the verbal altercation with Torres, Bullard said: "I just felt he had butted John and I wasn't happy that someone had done that to one of my team-mates. We're not making a thing of it, it happens. But I wouldn't have done it if that had been Duncan Ferguson – I'd have been nowhere near!"
Bullard's irrepressible personality and good humour summed up the spirit in a Fulham side that came to Anfield with just one away point all season and having failed to win any of their previous 27 visits to the ground.
Yet, Roy Hodgson's players appeared to play with more belief, confidence and camaraderie than did the hosts. Rafael Benitez has spoken so frequently and with such passion about the negative impact that travel for international football has on domestic performances that numerous sub-par Liverpool displays had the air of self-fulfilling prophecy on Saturday.
Benitez's concerns about travel fatigue also explained why he left Xabi Alonso on the bench for 64 minutes even though the pattern of the game – not to mention The Kop – were crying out for his talents.
In contrast, Hodgson pointed out that three of his most impressive performances came from goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and defenders Pantsil and Brede Hangeland, who spent the week travelling to and from Bahrain, Ghana and the Ukraine, respectively, on international duty.
"You can see that we didn't have enough quality on the ball and we didn't have enough energy," said Benitez. "We were giving it away and losing every challenge.
"You have to be strong to win this league, although you can say the same about Chelsea. Some days you have a bad day and today was a bad day."
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