Why does it always have to be about mentality? It is easy to try to explain everything that happens in football through the lens of mental strength. Winners are mentally tough, losers are bottlers, and everything that happens on the pitch can be fitted into this simple framework. Especially when it comes to Liverpool, the team whose every misstep is ascribed to mental failing and an inability to handle the pressure of their situation.

Sure enough at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon that scenario was on the table with 10 minutes left. They had been in control of the game, they had let it slip, and before Sergio Rico pulled down Sadio Mane in the box, they were heading for a 1-1 draw. That would have left City on top – only on goal difference – with a game in hand, giving them the chance to go three points clear here at Fulham in two weeks’ time.

If they had drawn this, would it have been a bottle? Or would it just have been a frustrating result that came from a series of minor technical mistakes? James Milner, brought on to close the game down, sliced his first touch, a clearance, higher than he intended. Virgil van Dijk, the best defender in the world, did not get quite enough on his header back to Allison. And he, one of the best keepers away from his line in the game, did not come out quickly enough. Sometimes you can read too deep for root causes of this type of thing. Sometimes it is just tired players on a soaked pitch not getting their footing as precise as they wanted to.

Jurgen Klopp could not hide his relief afterwards but he was insistent in his post-match press conference that the problem was not one of mentality. The point is that his players were exhausted after their week - that hard-fought home win over Burnley and then their trip to Munich for one of Liverpool’s biggest European wins of their generation. That has taken a lot out of them and maybe it was inevitable that their standards would slip.

“We let them back into the game a bit,” Klopp admitted. “But it was the intensity of the competition. Nothing to do with nerves. The goal they scored, we asked for it. There were two or three moments when we had been a bit like that, and they had their best periods in the game.”

Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Show all 23 1 /23 Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Fulham vs Liverpool LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: General view inside the stadium ahead of the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Liverpool FC at Craven Cottage on March 17, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) Michael Regan Getty Images Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Sergio Rico - 4 Must have felt he was doing OK when it was 1-1 with 10 minutes left before he spilled Salah’s shot at Mane’s feet and then pulled him over in the box. It was an obvious penalty and Rico had ruined all of his good work. Did at least stop it from getting worse with a save from Salah soon after. Getty Images Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Timothy Fosu-Mensah - 5 Trusted by Scott Parker to come back into the side and he was a powerful tackler at right back. It was never easy with Robertson and Mane doubling up on him but that was not his fault and he could hardly have worked harder than he did. REUTERS Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Calum Chambers - 5 Certainly an improvement on Maxime LeMarchand, he had a very difficult task here but handled it well. Never going to be quick but he is at least competent on the ball. Liverpool FC via Getty Images Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Tim Ream - 6 Another player who looks lifted by the changed mood here, he threw himself into everything, blocking and tackling and trying to stem the tide of red shirts. Clearly still very popular with the crowd here too. Getty Images Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Joe Bryan - 5 Had a slightly easier time than Fosu-Mensah on the opposite side, he was assiduous in his defensive duties, dealing with Salah and Alexander Arnold as well as he could. Pinned back, he barely managed to get up the pitch and attack as he likes to. REUTERS Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Tom Cairney - 6 What a shame that Cairney was ignored by Claudio Ranieri for so long. The local favourite was restored in central midfield, providing those little touches and passes to keep Fulham ticking. Even if he did not see as much of the ball as he would hope. REUTERS Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa - 6 Playing holding midfield against Liverpool is a nightmare, an exertion of constant pressure, but here he held his own. He won the ball, used it cleverly, and nearly pulled off a dramatic equaliser from outside the box. AFP/Getty Images Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Jean Michael Seri - 6 At times this season it has been impossible to see why he was so sought after last year, but not today. He was busy, ambitious, energetic, always trying to push forward even if things did not always work. Hooked for Ryan Sessegnon after an hour, however. PA Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Floyd Ayite - 6 Brought in for his first league start of the season and it showed. Ayite had Robertson surging past him every time and he never looked like he could catch up. But in the second half he was part of Fulham’s fightback, even having a header disallowed for offside. Getty Images Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Aleksandar Mitrovic - 5 He has been Fulham’s difference-maker for much of this season but here he was anonymous and powerless, winning nothing against Virgil van Dijk, unable to give his team the slightest presence in the game. PA Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Ryan Babel - 8 Claimed before the game that he knew Van Dijk’s secret weakness, and who would argue with him now? Scored what could have been a huge goal in the season when he got in between Van Dijk and Allison, bundling in an equaliser which he refused to celebrate. While it was a surprise, it was also a reward for Fulham’s only attacking player who had been willing to take anyone on all afternoon. REUTERS Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Alisson Becker - 5 This could have been a definitive moment of his Liverpool career had it not been for Milner’s late penalty. Slow coming off his line from Van Dijk’s header, he let Babel get in to, if only briefly, reduce Liverpool’s lead. PA Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Trent Alexander-Arnold - 7 Such a graceful menace high up the right wing for Liverpool. He barely did any defending here but every time he got the ball he whipped it perfectly into the box, giving them a width and range to their attack that few other right-backs provide. AFP/Getty Images Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Joel Matip - 6 Barely a day for defending but he did well against Mitrovic and Babel when he had to, and was free to set the tone on the ball, passing it forward briskly, getting things started. Liverpool FC via Getty Images Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Virgil van Dijk - 5 The best defender in the world made the worst mistake of his life here, misjudging a header back to Allison, getting caught, and seeing Ryan Babel take advantage. Fortunately for Van Dijk, Milner saved the day at the other end soon after. Had Liverpool drawn it would have been agony for a man who has been so important to their success. Getty Images Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Andrew Robertson - 8 Spent the whole game in Fulham’s half and was involved in every attack. With a bit more luck he would have scored and assisted plenty but he had to make do with simply starting the move for Mane’s opener. REUTERS Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Georginio Wijnaldum - 7 Did not have much destructive work to do – Fulham did not have enough of the ball – but he was dangerous going forward and had two opportunities to score. Kept Liverpool moving and on the front foot all afternoon. AP Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Fabinho - 7 So important in games like this, sitting in front of the centre-backs, allowing both full-backs to push forwards and pin Fulham back. With and without the ball he was in complete control of everything he did. AFP/Getty Images Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Adam Lallana - 6 Here to make sure that the Liverpool midfield does not lack dynamism, he was as busy as ever, darting around, putting Fulham under pressure, keeping the ball moving. After a long trouble with injuries he certainly gives this team more options. REUTERS Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Mohamed Salah - 6 Maybe he is not on top of his game right now but he is still a scampering threat to any opposition. Fulham tired themselves out just trying to stop him and of course it was his opportunistic shot that Rico spilled to make the penalty to win it. Action Images via Reuters Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Roberto Firmino - 6 It only takes him one little opening to make the difference. Here he was, running onto Mane’s pass, stepping over it, passing the ball back, to set up Liverpool’s opener. He did not do too much else but he did not need to. REUTERS Player ratings: Fulham vs Liverpool Sadio Mane - 8 Is Mane the most dangerous player in the world right now? Never let Fulham rest with his running, and scored his 11th in 11 games, with a move entirely of his own making. His powerful dribble, his lay-off to Firmino, his smooth finish. And of course he won the penalty that saved the game. Liverpool FC via Getty Images

It would have been interesting to see the reaction had the result stayed at 1-1, and whether this defence that Ryan Babel’s equaliser was “nothing to do with nerves” could have held.

But of course Liverpool kept pushing, won the game, and debates about exactly why they let in that goal felt rather moot. But even that fightback, the one that led to Milner’s winning penalty, was itself viewable through that same mental prism. If Babel’s goal was Liverpool bottling it, then was Milner’s winner the opposite?

For Klopp, it was more to do with consistency. Liverpool attacked in the last 16 minutes much like they had done for the first hour, with the two full-backs pushed all the way up, with the ball moving from side to side, and with the front three buzzing around the box looking for an opening. The crucial move, Mohamed Salah cutting in and shooting, Sadio Mane darting across the goalkeeper, could have been seen in the first half. Sometimes football just comes down to execution.

Klopp was pleased with how his side reacted to the equalising goal (Getty)