Leaders Liverpool saw their 26-match unbeaten Premier League run ended as they threw away the lead and suffered their second defeat of the season as Fulham fought back to claim a narrow 3-2 victory at Craven Cottage.

Arne Slot’s men failed to capitalise on Arsenal’s dropped points at Goodison Park in the previous 24 hours, on a day where Alexis Mac Allister scored a goal-of-the-season contender to put Liverpool ahead.

But some out-of-character defending from the visitors – following Ryan Sessegnon’s equaliser – allowed Alex Iwobi to sneak Fulham in front before Rodrigo Muniz made it three.

Luis Diaz came off the bench to pull one back, but it was not enough for Liverpool, who missed the chance to build on their 11-point lead over closest challengers Arsenal, with seven matches to play.

Despite Ibrahima Konate being dispossessed in his own half and the visitors almost falling behind, the Reds showed their pedigree in attack as they stunned the hosts with a moment of brilliance from Mac Allister in the 14th minute.

The goal started through towering defensive-midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, who used his tall frame to beat his man to the loose ball, allowing Mac Allister to drive forward and pick out the top left-hand corner from distance with a slammed finish past Bernd Leno.

But Liverpool’s lead did not last long with Cottagers academy graduate Sessegnon levelling in the 23rd minute.

Once Sander Berge dropped a shoulder to beat Liverpool’s press and played the ball wide, a whipped cross into the area was headed away by Konate and into the path of Sessegnon, who teed up the ball on the full and volleyed his effort inside the near post.

The away side had shown signs of slowing down in recent weeks and that was noticeable here with loose passes when dealing with Fulham’s high pressure being a common theme in the build-up to the hosts’ second.

This time, Iwobi was the Cottagers player who received the ball in an attacking area following an interception and – after Antonee Robinson overlapped to give him a yard of space – his left-footed effort took a heavy nick off Andy Robertson, wrong footing Caoimhin Kelleher to put the hosts ahead.

Liverpool had responded positively to similar tests throughout the campaign, but that was not the case here as Fulham’s pressure forced them to capitulate.

Five minutes after Iwobi’s strike in the 37th-minute, Reds skipper and the usually-reliable Virgil van Dijk’s lapse of concentration from a high ball allowed Muniz to pounce, nip in front of him and nutmeg Kelleher with a poacher’s finish inside the area.

After the break, Diaz was brought on by Slot in an attempt to rescue something from the game and he pulled one back with 18 minutes remaining.

But Mohamed Salah’s skied effort from close range and Curtis Jones rattling the crossbar in the 79th minute was as close as Liverpool came on a day where they fell short.