Liverpool 2-0 Fulham: Rio Ngumoha, 17, exhibits Reds followers a tantalising glimpse of the longer term – as Mohamed Salah recollects former glories to fireside up his farewell tour, writes LEWIS STEELE

Liverpool eased pressure on boss Arne Slot with a first league win in six weeks thanks to a goal from a departing king and another from a prince with eyes on the throne.

Mohamed Salah scored goal number 256 in a Reds shirt, as Anfield savoured every last moment left in this glorious marriage between the fanbase and the Kop idol they call the Egyptian King, this his first home outing since he announced his upcoming departure.

It came four minutes after a man 16 years his junior had scored a goal Salah would be proud of, with starlet Rio Ngumoha, 17, taking on his marker and curling an unstoppable shot into the far corner.

It was Ngumoha’s second strike for the club after a 100th-minute winner at Newcastle in August as he repaid the faith from boss Arne Slot in what was a rare – but deserved – league start. Just the 254 goals to go to match Salah’s tally, young man.

The rookie and veteran double act, who both came in as two of five changes from the side that was thoroughly outclassed and outplayed in Paris last Wednesday, gave fans reasons to be cheerful ahead of the Premier League run-in.

‘Liverpool for me are the biggest club in the world, to start so young and the manager and all the players having belief in me,’ said Ngumoha. ‘I’ve just got to keep working hard. It’s a special goal.’

It was Ngumoha’s second strike for the club after a 100th-minute winner at Newcastle in August as he repaid the faith from boss Arne Slot in what was a rare league start

Mohamed Salah scored goal number 256 in a Reds shirt, as Anfield savoured every last moment left in this glorious marriage between the fanbase and the Kop idol

Andy Robertson added: ‘He’s unbelievable. It just shows you sometimes don’t listen to the experienced players, I was screaming at him to say that I’m coming on the overlap!

‘He’s got a big future ahead of him, but here and now is pretty good as well.’

The 32-year-old left back announced earlier this week he would depart the club at the end of the season after a trophy-laden nine years since joining from Hull. 

‘I knew my song would get sung a couple of times,’ he said. ‘This club means everything to me. It’s a fact. I’ve been here nine years. I was a boy at one time. Now I’ve become a man here.’

This victory came after a run of three straight defeats that has seen the side dumped out of the FA Cup and all but knocked out of Europe to boot, barring a minor miracle in the Champions League second leg against Paris Saint-Germain this coming Tuesday.

How vital these three points were, then, for Liverpool’s under-fire boss Slot, who feels support from the hierarchy amid question marks over his future but knows anything but Champions League qualification would represent an abject failure of a campaign.

The three points took them four clear of Chelsea, who play Manchester City on Sunday, and extended the gap on those further back with neighbours Everton sharing a point each with fellow top-half disruptors Brentford.

Fulham will leave with regret, having failed to ask any serious questions of a team lacking confidence and defensive steel in recent weeks. Marco Silva’s men had eyes on sneaking into a European spot – like half of the league – but this was a major setback for those hopes.

And while it was far from perfect from Liverpool, it was a step in the right direction. Finally, they have found some efficiency in front of goal after so often wasting chances. Slot, much maligned in recent weeks, made changes after a torrid week – and they paid off.

Ngumoha opened the scoring on 36 minutes after a spell when Fulham were starting to grow in confidence at a quiet Anfield, where fans were protesting ticket price rises with a ‘no pound in the ground’ campaign to not spend money at any on-site food and drink kiosks.

The 17-year-old was fed by Florian Wirtz and experienced defender Timothy Castagne did not know whether he was coming or going.

Ngumoha strikes fear into defenders and perhaps deserves more game-time. Maybe he will after this outing, his most complete afternoon in the senior team. He curled his shot past Bernd Leno to score.

Then, on 40 minutes, he was again shimmying his way past Fulham’s defenders and fed Salah, helped along by Cody Gakpo, and the Egyptian bent one into the far corner.

That was his first league goal at Anfield since November 1, a whopping 161 days ago. Noting that, fans no longer take him for granted as there are not too many special Salah moments left now, with a maximum of seven more games for the club barring a European comeback.

Liverpool spent £450million last summer largely on attacking talent and will need to dig into the money well again this summer to replace Salah. Regardless of who they sign, they also have a special talent getting better and better in young Ngumoha.