Fulham boss Marco Silva labelled the opening 45 minutes Fulham’s worst half at the Summer Series, as two goals before the break secured Chelsea a 2-0 win in the tournament closer.
“It was not a good first half at all,” he admitted. “I think our first half was not at our normal standards.
“Throughout this tournament we’ve shown completely different things to what we showed first half.
“Not just because we conceded two sloppy goals, but the way we started our offensive organisation, our attacks were not so clear, we did not control the ball like we normally do, and we completely lost control of the game during the first half.
“Overall, we would have liked to have seen some different things this afternoon. The first half was our worst half this tournament.
“Second half was different, much more ourselves on the pitch, we created some chances as well. It was not a good game from ourselves, but this second half was better.”
Whites fans got a first look at Raul Jimenez and Calvin Bassey after they were introduced at the break, and Silva is pleased to have the pair on board.
“It was the first 45 minutes for [Bassey] and I told him I didn’t expect brilliant, brilliant things,” our Head Coach explained. “I wanted him to start simple to get some confidence, and he did.
“When he gets to know his teammates better, know the connections better, he can show different things, much more on the ball. Off the ball, he’s a strong lad, it’s just a matter of time for him to understand our principles and our ideas on and off the ball.
“About Raul, he’s more experienced, you can see in just 45 minutes how he is going to help the team.
“It was a very good second half from him, he made an impact that I wanted to see in the second half, linking our game, holding the ball, some good movements inside the box as well.
“I’m sure that if you’re going to provide for him like we normally provide for our strikers, then he is going to make a difference because I believe that he’s a great addition for us.”
Fulham had already suffered a blow before a goal had been conceded, when Captain Tom Cairney went off injured early on.
“We have to wait,” Silva said when asked for the diagnosis. “He felt something, not really in his hamstring, something in the area above the hamstring.
“We have to check him tomorrow to analyse him again, the medical staff is going to decide if he’s going to do an exam or not to take more conclusions about the situation.”