Fulham manager Marco Silva was once again pleased with the impact of his substitutes as Emile Smith Rowe came off the bench to help Fulham claim a point against Manchester United.
Smith Rowe, who more than played his part from the bench in last weekend’s draw at Brighton, had another huge impact, timing his run to perfection to sweep home Alex Iwobi’s cross from the left.
“The players that came on were brilliant,” said Silva. “Last week was the same and last season it was the story of the season.
“Harry Wilson had a great pre-season and today he started on the bench, but a massive impact from him. Raúl [Jiménez] started last week and of course Emile, helped the team last week with the build up for the goal and this afternoon he scored. He knows he’s important for us and he can arrive in the right spots.”
It was a breathless start at Craven Cottage with Bernd Leno called into a couple of early saves, while Matheus Cunha hit the woodwork with just two minutes on the clock. Bruno Fernandes also hit a wild penalty into the Hammy End after Mason Mount had been pulled to the ground by Calvin Bassey.
But after that early storm had passed, Silva was pleased with how his side responded.
“The commitment, the plan, the attitude, the desire” replied Silva when asked with what pleased him about the display.
“Man United started better than us and they had two good very good moments with Matheus and we had one with Josh [King] as well.
“They started better, but from 20 minutes we controlled really well. We didn’t give many spaces to them and they only created moments from set pieces.
They scored, but it was a great reaction from the boys in a difficult moment of the game. We finished the game stronger, in and around their box with some good moments. I’m proud of the fans and the way they were with the team right until the end.
“It was important to start with three points at home – but we have to understand we are against a big team too.”