Fulham were just 10 minutes away from recording an unlikely draw at Craven Cottage against Liverpool on Sunday.

Following Ryan Babel's equaliser against his former side, it was looking like Scott Parker's side were heading for arguable their best result of the season. Yet, in typical Cottagers fashion, they let themselves down once again.

Following a harmless strike from Reds forward Mohamed Salah, Sergio Rico somehow managed to drop the ball at the feet of Sadio Mane before unnecessarily tripping the Senegalese star up in the penalty area. James Milner stepped up to take the spot-kick and duly scored the winner, condemning the Cottagers to their 22nd defeat of the season.

However, despite many fans rightfully blaming Rico for his error, he should still keep his place in Parker's side as he is clearly the best goalkeeper at the club once you look closer at the stats for this season in the Premier League.

In the 22 games that the Sevilla loanee has been involved in, he has conceded 45 goals which averages out at 2.046 per game which is a better ratio than both Fabri (2.5 goals) and Marcus Bettinelli (2.86 goals.)

Furthermore, Fulham's only clean sheets this season, which came in fixtures against Newcastle United and Huddersfield Town, have come with Rico in between the sticks.

It could be argued that no matter who Fulham have in goal, it simply does not matter as the main reason for why they will be relegated to the Championship at the end of the season is their horrendous defence.

By letting their opponents score 70 goals in the Premier League in just 31 games, they are already well on course to record one of the worst defensive records in recent top-flight history.

Therefore, whilst it would easy for Parker to drop Rico for the Cottagers' clash against Manchester City on March 30th, he should instead be making alterations to his back four who have been woeful throughout the 2018/19 campaign.

What do you think Fulham fans? Should Rico be dropped by Parker for his error against Liverpool? Or is it the defence who are ultimately to blame for this season? Let us know below.