Monday Mar 17 2008 07:40
Everton manager David Moyes insisted
Liverpool remain favourites to claim the final Champions League place after his side's weekend defeat at Fulham.
The Toffees slipped to a surprise 1-0 loss at the relegation-plagued London club on Sunday to hand the Reds the initiative in the race for fourth place.
Everton's first league defeat in eight games has left them three points behind their city rivals and odds-on to miss out on Champions League football next season.
The defeat at Fulham also came hard on the heels of their exit from the UEFA Cup on Wednesday on penalties at the hands of Fiorentina.
"Liverpool were always favourites. I've said that many times," claimed Moyes.
"We're just going to try and win as many as we can and keep going. We've been on a great run but today was not one of our better performances.
"The players have been terrific but today we dropped below the high standards we've set.
"The players have been excellent and this is our first defeat in I don't know how many league games, but we've not got a great record at Fulham."
Meanwhile, Moyes has revealed his concern at a lack of attacking options after Victor Anichebe failed a pre-match fitness test with a hip problem and Andrew Johnson lasted only 15 minutes before pulling up with a groin injury.
"It is a concern at the moment," he continued. "Andy has a groin strain but I looked at my bench and I didn't have a lot of options."
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