A crackling Craven Cottage did its best to cheer Fulham to Wembley but Marco Silva’s side fell short of overturning their one-goal deficit from the first leg as Liverpool progressed to next month’s final. Jurgen Klopp’s visitors took control of the game after Luiz Diaz’s deflected effort squeezed past Bernd Leno and off the inside of the post, but Fulham had the Reds hanging on at the end. The leveller on the night came from the unlikely source of Issa Diop but the Whites couldn’t find another to take the tie into extra time.

The Cottage isn’t known for its raucous atmosphere but the Fulham fans turned up the volume in a bid to make the difference. It was Liverpool who made the stronger side, stroking the ball around imperiously before Diaz nodded wide and Darwin Nunez shot tamely into the arms of Leno. Fulham had the best opening, however, when a clever corner from Andreas Pereira picked out Joao Palhinha on the penalty spot but the Portuguese midfielder’s volley flew a yard over the crossbar. That seemed to encourage the hosts who threatened again when Willian and Antonee Robinson linked up down the left, with only a diving stop from Caoimhin Kelleher preventing Bobby De Cordova-Reid from finishing at the far post.

But the life was sucked out of the tie – at least temporarily – when Liverpool went ahead. Diaz beat Timothy Castagne in the air and cut in from the left. dribbling around Tosin Adarabioyo before his shot diverted off Palhinha and into the net, leaving Leno beating the turf in frustration. Raul Jimenez drew a save from Keheller as the Whites searched for an immediate riposte, but Liverpool looked the likelier to score before the interval, especially when the offside flag prevented Gakpo from doubling the lead.

Caution doesn’t appear to be in Silva’s lexicon – and his success in SW6 has been built on adventure. That was a necessity here with his side two goals adrift on aggregate, but it served to make the second half an end-to-end affair. De Cordova-Reid saw a shot blocked at close quarters before Tosin Adarabioyo beat Keheller, who had made a doomed dash from his line, to Willian’s cross but Pereira rattled the post from an almost impossible angle. Liverpool nearly scored onto the counter with Nunez rolling the ball into Harvey Elliiott, tonight’s pantomime villain, only for Leno to spread himself.

The German international then made a fine save from a Nunez effort, but Fulham came again after Silva had sent on Kenny Tete and Harry Wilson. The Welsh international, who came through the Liverpool youth ranks, wasted no time in making an impact, skipping away from young Connor Bradley before his ball across was guided home by the alert Diop. Wilson surged through the middle of the park and unleashed a long-distance effort that the Liverpool goalkeeper had to shovel unconvincinly aside.

Silva’s side keep pushing and probing but there was no way through a well-drilled Liverpool back line that was supplemented by Ibrahima Kouyate in the closing stages. Unlike Hamburg at home in 2010, there was no fairytale ending – but there was plenty to be proud of.

FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne (Tete 83), A. Robinson, Adarabioyo, Diop; Palhinha, Cairney (Reed 63); De Cordova-Reid (Wilson 67), Willian, Pereira (Muniz 83); Jimenez. Subs (not used): Rodak, Ream, Lukic, Francois, Vinicius.

BOOKED: Cairney, Diop, Wilson.

GOAL: Diop (76)

LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Kelleher, Bradley, Quansah, van Dijk, Gomez, Elliott, Mac Allister (Jones 67), Gravenberch (Clark 84), Gakpo (Konaté 83), Núñez (Diogo Jota 67), Díaz. Subs (not used): Alisson, Robinson, Jones, Robinson, Beck, McConnell, Nyani.

BOOKED: Keheller.

GOAL: Diaz (11).

REFEREE: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire).