Fulham manager Marco Silva admitted Fulham were left frustrated after surrendering a first-half advantage in a 2-1 defeat to Everton at Craven Cottage.
The Whites produced a dominant opening 45 minutes and created a host of chances, but went into the break with only a single-goal cushion – a margin that ultimately proved costly as Everton turned the game around after half-time.
“We should have killed the game,” Marco explained. “We should have scored three or four goals (in the first-half) at least.
“I know Everton created one good chance from a corner too, but there were a number of chances that we created and clear, clear chances to score more goals.
“Second-half, we stopped doing the right things. We spoke at half-time and expected a normal reaction from a side like Everton – we expected them to make some steps forward.
“We started to lose control of the game. Of course, we tried to react from the bench but we lost control of the game and we have to blame ourselves, definitely, for the way we lost this afternoon.
“We were too soft defending our box. It's a moment for us to blame ourselves and to really look at ourselves because you want to prove your quality. It was a good chance for us to prove our quality, but we have to prove it for 90 minutes, not just 45.”
Everton’s winning goal was officially credited as a Bernd Leno own goal, with some Fulham supporters feeling James O’Brien may have impeded the goalkeeper in the build-up. However, Marco was adamant his focus lay firmly on his own side’s performance.
“He was interfering but to be honest, I’m more disappointed with ourselves. We should be disappointed with ourselves and not talk about the referee.
“We cannot expect different decisions or decisions to come in our favour. We have to look at ourselves much more and be more brave, more aggressive in all the moments.”
There was a positive note for the Whites as Rodrigo Muniz made his return from injury, appearing as a substitute for the first time in nearly three months. New signing Oscar Bobb further strengthening Fulham’s options, making his debut off the bench.
“He (Muniz) is going to be important, for sure. The last two or three months for us, the way we played and the way we were without solutions there, that was not a normal thing.
“What we had this afternoon I think is a good Premier League bench and a bench that can give us solutions for what comes ahead of us. It’s always important for us to have a player like him ready to help us and help Raúl, to score goals and to be stronger.”