Premier League - Saturday 24th August 2024, 3:00 PM
Fulham2
(1)
-
(1)
1
Leicester
Attendance: 25401
Referee: Darren Bond (Lancashire)
Match events
Smith Rowe
18
38
Faes
59
Kristiansen (f)
63
Ayew
63
De Cordova-Reid
Wilson
69
Smith Rowe
69
Cairney
69
Traore
69
Iwobi
70
71
Mavididi
71
Vardy
71
Skipp
71
Buonanotte
Wilson (f)
72
Jimenez
80
Muniz
80
85
McAteer
85
Kristiansen
Reed
86
Pereira
86
Cairney (f)
92
95
Vestergaard (f)
Match review
Match Report
Fulham (1) 2-1 (1) Leicester City
Premier League Match Day 02 24/25 at Craven Cottage,
Saturday 24th August 2024 KO: 15:00
Referee:
Darren Bond (Lancashire)
|
Fulham claimed their first three points of the 2024/25 campaign with a 2-1 victory over Leicester City on Saturday.
A dream start for Fulham saw Emile Smith Rowe open his Fulham account in the 18th minute before Leicester clambered back into the encounter and levelled prior to half-time. With twenty minutes remaining Alex Iwobi restored our lead and it proved to be the crucial goal as we held on for victory.
Marco Silva named an unchanged starting XI from the side that had narrowly lost on opening day away at Old Trafford a week ago. There was one notable addition to the bench however, with fan favourite Ryan Sessegnon taking the place of Josh King amongst the substitutes.
It had been a wet and windy afternoon in SW6 but mercifully the rain had subsided to a light drizzle as the referee got the match under way.
It was Fulham who started the brightest and in the fourth minute we had our first effort on goal. A sweeping move across to the right flank culminated in a stinging left-footed shot from Adama Traoré. Mads Hermansen was alert and well positioned to parry behind for a corner.
The Fulham onslaught continued as we pressed and probed but it was Bobby De Cordova-Reid, on his return to Craven Cottage who tested Bernd Leno from distance in the ninth minute.
In the 18th minute the deadlock was broken as we cut through Leicester like a knife through butter. Traoré who had started brightly did excellently on the right wing to bounce off a challenge and meander infield before spotting an unmarked Smith Rowe who had ghosted in behind the visitors back line.
With defenders scrambling to get back the midfielder burst into the box and slammed a left-footed effort into the far corner. A superb finish to open his Fulham account in style.
With Leicester looking to slow the tempo and regain a foothold in the encounter the match tempo petered out in their favour and in the 38th minute they pulled level.
A deep cross was thundered home by Faes at the back post past Leno in the Fulham net. After briefly being ruled out for offside the goal stood after VAR review as Jamie Vardy was deemed to not be obstructing the view of the Fulham keeper.
| Match Stats |
Fulham |
Leicester |
| Goals |
(1) 2 |
1 (1) |
|
| Scorers |
Smith Rowe 18 |
Faes 38 |
| Scorers |
Iwobi 72 |
- |
| , |
| Goal attempts |
18 |
10 |
| On target |
6 |
4 |
| Shooting Accuracy |
33% |
40% |
| Possession |
55% |
45% |
| Passes |
451 |
357 |
| Corners |
7 |
5 |
| Tackles |
14 |
20 |
| Tackles Success |
64 |
65 |
| Saves |
3 |
4 |
| Fouls |
14 |
13 |
| Offsides |
0 |
5 |
| Yellows |
2 |
2 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source: SkySports |
As the referee brought the first half to a close Fulham would feel somewhat frustrated not to have made their dominance in the opening quarter of the game lead to a larger lead. However, with the equaliser it was all to play for in the second half.
In the 49th minute Fulham missed a golden opportunity to restore their lead. A sloppy turn from Faes gifted Adama the ball in the opposition box. With only Hermansen to beat the Spanish winger squared to an unmarked Rodrigo Muniz 6 yards out, but the striker snatched at his effort it lashed his effort over the bar.
With the match remaining in deadlock Fulham were finding it hard to unlock the Leicester lines despite multiple costly giveaways in their own half.
Sensing Fulham needed an extra impetuous in an attacking sense Smith Rowe & Adama made way for Harry Wilson & Tom Cairney respectively with 20 minutes remaning.
Seconds after the changes our lead was restored courtesy of Iwobi. Again, it was all too easy. A deft first-time pass from Antonee Robinson from left back sliced the Foxes back line. Iwobi was clear through on the left flank and after calmly working his way into the box his shot was partially saved by Hermansen before nestling in the back of the net.
A nervy final ten minutes ensued but we held on to claim our first points of the season.
Fulham boss Marco Silva
"It's always important [to get first goal] when you sign a talent like him [Smith Rowe], it's important to have the impact.
"We signed him not only just for now but for a long time, it was important for him even though he has experience. Last season he didn't play football, I think it was his first goal in the Premier League in two years as well.
"He settled in the preseason, it was important to get a little bit more confidence and he scored a good finish. When we sign a player for that position we need them to be decisive, he got the conclusion to finish in the right way.
"He's far from his best from a physical point of view, he's going to improve, he'll adapt more, it was nice to see him be decisive.
"It was a great pass from Robinson [for the second goal] and that's something we wanted to exploit down the left.
"He's been impressive, he's improved as a player, he was one of our best players of the season last season and he never stops.
"The way he started last week shows he's a great athlete and he is able to keep improving."
Leicester boss Steve Cooper:
"It thought Fulham took control more than us and had the territory and went 1-0 up. A couple of minutes after that where he didn't manage the game well, we then worked our way back into the game and got some good moments, some dangerous attacks and got back into the game through a set-piece.
"At half-time, we were really confident we would go and win the game. We felt the game was there for us. There was a lot of tension and we couldn't capitalise on that. Then we got into the phase of tired legs and changes, and that second goal came in that phase.
"The two goals we've conceded are real examples of what happens when you're not quite right with your decision-making and your tactical ideas. You can get punished. That's what we did with both goals in presenting the opportunities for Fulham and the space we gave.
"We pushed hard and showed some great resilience in the first two games to not give up. It's a non-negotiable but it's not always the case. We never gave up on that.
"We're really disappointed that we've lost because we should always be that way. We should never accept losing. But there were phases in the game, for our first away game, against an established team and a manager that has been here a while, it looks like there was a result there for us. We have to learn from that, but we also have to see that there were phases in the game where we were the better team and looked like a team that can get results."
Fulham: Leno, Tete, Diop, Bassey, Robinson, Pereira (Reed 86), Lukic, Traore (Cairney 69), Smith Rowe (Wilson 69), Iwobi, Muniz (Jimenez 80)
Unused substitutes: Cuenca, Castagne, Benda, Stansfield, Sessegnon
Goals:
Emile Smith Rowe 18; (Fulham deservedly lead as Traore cuts across midfield, before releasing Smith Rowe clean through on goal with a gorgeous pass - and the new boy powers into the box, before finding the far corner for his first goal for his new team on his home debut!)
Alex Iwobi 70; (Fulham re-take the lead and it is so simple as Robinson's long ball over the top releases Iwobi down the left and the winger charges forward into the box, before powering a shot through the advancing Hermansen.)
Booked: Wilson (72,f), Cairney (92,f),
Leicester City: : Hermansen, Justin, Vestergaard, Faes, Fatawu, Winks, Ndidi, Kristiansen (McAteer 85), Buonanotte (Skipp 71), Vardy (Mavididi 71), De Cordova-Reid (Ayew 63)
Unused substitutes: Ward, Okoli, Choudhury, Ricardo Pereira, Soumare
Goals:
Faes 38; (Faes rises high from that left-wing corner and heads past Leno)
Booked: Kristiansen (59,f), Vestergaard (95,f),
Referee:
Darren Bond (Lancashire)
Attendance: 25,401
Fulham are next in action away at Birmingham City on Tuesday 27th August in the Second Round of the Carabao Cup.