That intriguing philosopher George Santayana once contended that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool would doubtless have given Santayana much to ponder. In last season’s final Premier League away game, Liverpool kept more than one eye on the Champions League and effectively fielded a reserve team, hence a start for Emiliano Insua and a cameo for Harry Kewell. Much to Sheffield United’s chagrin, Fulham’s victory helped ensure their survival by two places and one point.

This year, at the same place, at almost the same time of the season and with the Champions League looming again, Liverpool remembered their past, repeated their history and made eight changes from their previous game. This time though, they surely condemned Fulham to the Championship.

Liverpool’s victory put them within a point of next season’s Champions League and Benitez was unrepentant over his selection policy. “My responsibility is to use the squad I have to win games,” he argued, defending his selection.

Not for the first time this season, the hosts have only themselves to blame and having finally won away, only two wins at home since November 3 tells its own grim tale.

Yesterday they began like Premier League hares but once the first of two elementary Kasey Keller errors gave Jermaine Pennant his second goal of an under-achieving season and long before he allowed a Peter Crouch daisy-cutter to squeeze under him, Fulham had become Championship tortoises.

“I can’t say it’s not looking bleak but that performance could have got us a point,” argued Fulham’s manager, Roy Hodgson. “Maybe we needed a worse performance and a lucky victory. Now we have to keep going and get the nine remaining points.”

While Liverpool sat back and thought of Chelsea, Fulham, giddy in the afterglow of that away win, fielded the same 16 who triumphed at Reading. Yet, they knew that even if they had won, they would have remained in the bottom three.

Buoyed by the unusually fervent atmosphere that hope-tinged desperation brings, Fulham tore forward like men in fear of a trip to Burnley. Clint Dempsey was irrepressible, racing into the yawning chasm occasioned by Steve Finnan and Martin Skrtel’s incompatibility, while Jimmy Bullard was, initially at least, a dervish for one so cultured.

However, Fulham are not where they are because of some unfathomably malign alignment of the planets and after 17 minutes of white-shirted possession, Liverpool cantered up the field and scored. Andriy Voronin fed Lucas Leiva, who in turn noticed Pennant ambling forward and the midfielder gambolled around an unforgivably lackadaisical Brede Hangeland and chanced his arm. Perhaps thinking Pennant’s dipper was drifting wide, perhaps thinking of his summer holidays, Keller stood statuesque and watched as the ball drifted past him into the goal.

Fragile at the best of times, Fulham’s morale was crushed by the worst of times and soon only Paul Stalteri’s goal-line clearance was foiling John Arne Riise after more tidy Voronin foraging and another Pennant cross.

Fulham had their intermittent moments — Hangeland headed wide when well-placed and David Healy miskicked when facing Jose Reina 10 yards out — but the momentum was with Liverpool and they were so comfortable that as the match chugged along, the travelling support remembered Hillsborough and sang of “Justice For the 96”.

Fulham were more ragged after the break, while the strangers who represented Liverpool took over. The impressive Voronin went close with a flying overhead kick, while Pennant led Paul Konchesky in a most merry dance.

As the minutes slipped by, Fulham’s desperation increased and their hit-and-hope approach became too much hit and too little hope. Still they persevered and a raking move climaxed with Brian McBride just failing to connect with Dempsey’s cross, while Dempsey himself was unfortunate to nod Bullard’s cross wide.

The smidgeon of hope Fulham had was abandoned after 70 minutes when Pennant’s delicate through ball found Crouch, who spun neatly and watched gleefully as his perfunctory shot somehow squirmed through the hapless Keller. Game, and possibly Premier League life, over for Fulham.

To their credit, Fulham still pressed and only a fortuitous Reina leg foiled Danny Murphy but by the end of an afternoon as dismal for the home side as the weather, Liverpool were knocking the ball around as if they had picked their first XI.

Star man: Andriy Voronin (Liverpool)

Fulham: Keller 4, Stalteri 6, Hughes 6, Hangeland 4, Konchesky 4, Davies 5, Murphy 5 (Andreasen 78min), Bullard 6, Dempsey 7, Healy 6 (Nevland 76min), McBride 5 (Kamara 81min)

Liverpool: Reina 5, Finnan 6, Skrtel 4, Hyypia 6 (Carragher ht, 6), Riise 6, Mascherano 7 (Alonso 72min), Pennant 7, Lucas 7, Benayoun 6, Voronin 7 (Aurelio 82min), Crouch 6

Scorers:Liverpool: Pennant 17, Crouch 70
Yellow cards: Fulham: Healy
Referee: M Atkinson
Attendance: 25,311