James Milner went from zero to hero, holding his nerve from the penalty spot to send Liverpool top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win over Fulham.

Experienced midfielder Milner was brought on by Jurgen Klopp to help see out a 1-0 victory, only for him to send a mindless clearance skywards, which Virgil van Dijk and Alisson left for one another and allowed Ryan Babel to cancel out Sadio Mane’s 26th-minute opener.

That was Mane’s 11th goal in his past 11 outings and the Senegal forward was brought down by Sergio Rico after the Fulham goalkeeper spilt Mohamed Salah’s shot to hand Milner his shot at redemption.

Liverpool moved two points in front of Manchester City, who were in FA Cup action this weekend, while second-bottom Fulham are marooned 13 points from safety after a seventh consecutive loss.