Fulham 3-1 Liverpool match report: The Daily Mirror verdict

Jamie Carragher admitted he is "hurting" after his "un-Liverpool-like" side lost their sixth game in seven to leave their season on the brink at home and abroad.

The stand-in skipper and Phillip Degen both saw red at the end of a shambolic 3-1 defeat at Fulham labelled "abysmal" and "lamentable" by Kop legend Alan Hansen.

Humiliating, pathetic, embarrassing could all have equally applied. No matter the choice of words, the stats speak for themselves.

Rafa Benitez's side have now lost five consecutive away matches in all competitions and face early elimination from the Champions League if they lose to Lyon on Wednesday.

The Spanish manager, who has made an art form of winning the matches that matter, now needs another masterpiece of Picasso proportions at the Stade Gerland after getting a proper coating by the banks of the Thames.

"It is hard to take because we have not had a great start to the season," said Carragher. "We totally dominated the game for large parts and we have come away with another defeat which has left us scratching our heads a little bit.

"These are tough times at the moment and it hurts, it is hurting a lot. We made up for a few things last week by beating Manchester United and then we have had two defeats since and we have just got to turn it around. There is only us on the pitch that can do that and there will be a lot of talk about this result again, but it is only us on the pitch that can change things.

"We have got to sort this out with the management and the staff and get back on the training pitch because Lyon is another massive game. We can't afford to be too down-hearted for too long because we have got to get ready for the next game.

"This is un-Liverpool like. But it is not just the fans who are disappointed, it is the players, the staff and the manager. We are all disappointed with what is going on.

"There is still a long season to go and hopefully we can look back and say that we had tough times but that we came through it and hopefully we can win a bit of silverware."

The Liverpool manager, who yesterday claimed that "progression" is more important than winning trophies, will appeal against both red cards shown to his players and can justifiably claim his team dominated the first half despite a long list of injuries.

But Fulham were without Andy Johnson and Danny Murphy, their two most influential players, along with four other internationals and the home side then lost Damien Duff and Diomansy Kamara at half-time. But while Roy Hodgson had a bench full of proven Premier League experience to call upon, the callow Liverpool bench looked like a work experience outing.

And on the pitch, full-backs Emiliano Insua and Philipp Degen and Andriy Voronin, mysteriously deployed in the Gerrard role behind Torres, are simply not good enough for a Big Four club.

And now after five years and a net £112m spend in the transfer market Benitez will try to patch up his only top-class striker against Lyon and hope Torres can single-handedly keep the season alive.

Because without the talismanic Torres and Gerrard, this Liverpool are an ordinary side even with 11 men, littered with mediocre players not fit to fill the famous red shirt.

The Spaniard, who scored his 10th Premier League goal of the season despite carrying a groin strain, was subbed after 63 minutes with the score at 1-1.

"I think that sometimes these decisions are made before the game and if Fernando's injury had got worse at the end then we would have virtually no-one for Wednesday," admitted Carragher. It was a telling indictment of the Benitez reign from the club captain.

The Reds still enjoyed a staggering 74 per cent of possession in the game but lacked the imagination to use it better. Yossi Benayoun crashed a shot against the bar after 22 minutes - just two minutes before the tireless Bobby Zamora tapped home the opener from a Duff cross.

Even the Liverpool equaliser was due more to Torres' genius than a great build-up. Voronin's header cannoned off Aaron Hughes on the edge of the box and the No.9 volleyed home clinically.

After Torres was subbed, Erik Nevland's cheeky backheel gave Fulham back the lead before two Liverpool red cards in 145 seconds.

First Degan was sent off by Lee Mason for a clumsy challenge on Clint Dempsey and then Carragher was dismissed for a last-man challenge on Zamora despite claiming to play the ball. He was also climbing on the Fulham striker's back.

"I thought Degen's red card was a bit harsh," said Carragher. "He did not go in two footed. With mine I felt it was wrong at the time and I felt I got a toe to the ball. The referee was not in the greatest position and it is always a dead giveaway when the player you are tackling says at the time that I won the ball. Zamora actually turned to me and said I had won the ball so that says it all."

Dempsey slotted home the third goal after 87 minutes after the Pool rearguard was torn to shreds.

Roy Hodgson generously claimed Liverpool, who lost only twice in the Premier League last season, can still win their first title since 1990.

"Yes, I think they probably can because I think this year there is a risk that the top teams will lose more games probably than they have in the past," he said.

But the Anfield club has already conceded twice as many goals (16 to eight) while racking up eight fewer points after 11 games compared to last season.

Luiz Felipe Scolari was sacked by Chelsea earlier this year with a much better record. But the investment in Benitez is too big, in terms of his contract and the structure of the club, to yet consider the nuclear option. And who of the American owners would sack him anyway?

Getting Torres and Gerrard back fully fit will change the team. But by then it could be already too late for three out of four trophies this season.

"As a manager you have to understand and the only way to change things is to try to do your job properly and win games," Benitez said.  

Would he now reconsider his future? "My future is against Lyon," he stated.