Fulham continued their strong pre-season form with a 4-2 win over Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad on a sweltering evening in the Algarve.
A dominant first-half display saw the Whites race into a commanding lead, with goals from Harry Wilson, Emile Smith Rowe, Josh King, and Jorge Cuenca.
Karim Benzema struck twice after the break to reduce the deficit, but Fulham remained in control and created several opportunities to add to their tally in the second half.
The early stages saw a moment of danger as Karim Benzema capitalised on a loose pass, but Bernd Leno reacted sharply to deny the striker and Houssem Aouar’s follow-up effort flew harmlessly over the bar. From that point on, Fulham took control.
Just as he did against Nottingham Forest last time out, Wilson opened the scoring with a moment of magic. Picking up the ball on the edge of the area, the Welshman bent a sublime strike into the far corner with the outside of his left foot.
The Wales international nearly turned provider shortly after, swinging in a deep corner that found the head of Joachim Andersen, though the defender's effort was too high to trouble the goalkeeper.
Our second goal came via excellent wing play from Emile Smith Rowe, who burst down the left, beat his marker, and delivered a teasing cross that floated over the Al-Ittihad 'keeper and nestled in the net.
Fulham thought they had added a third before the half-hour mark with a flowing team move. Wilson and Smith Rowe combined brilliantly before the former picked out Timothy Castagne, who finished calmly – but the goal was ruled out for an offside in the build-up.
Al-Ittihad responded briefly after both teams had enjoyed drinks break, with Steven Bergwijn attempting a low strike to catch Leno off guard, but the Fulham stopper was equal to it.
Chances continued to come our way, and Rodrigo Muniz will feel he could have done better when he met Castagne’s excellent cross in the middle, only to miss the target.
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Fulham midfielder
Josh King
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Fulham did eventually extend the lead five minutes before the break. Tom Cairney delivered an excellent curling ball to the far post, where King was perfectly placed to apply the close-range finish.
There was still time for one more before the interval, as Wilson’s pinpoint corner was met by Cuenca, who swept home a smart first-time finish to cap off a dominant first-half display.
Marco Silva rang the changes at half-time, introducing nine fresh faces, but Fulham's intensity remained high after the restart.
Adama Traoré wasted little time making an impact, bursting through the Al-Ittihad defence before firing narrowly wide. Moments later, Andreas Pereira tested the goalkeeper with a powerful effort from distance, but it was well held.
The Saudi side were handed a route back into the match when Karim Benzema was awarded a penalty following a contentious challenge in the box. Substitute goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte did superbly to deny the initial spot-kick, but the rebound fell kindly for Benzema, who tucked it away on the second attempt.
The Frenchman struck again in the 74th minute, finishing off a swift counter-attack. Moussa Diaby raced down the flank and sent in a low ball across the face of goal, which Benzema bundled in at close range.
Adama continued to cause problems at the other end, forcing goalkeeper Shenqity into a smart save with a thunderous volley. The Al-Ittihad stopper then denied him again, bravely diving at the winger’s feet to claim the ball as he looked to round him.
Al-Ittihad applied some late pressure in search of a third, but Fulham stood firm to see out the match and claim another encouraging pre-season victory.
Fulham: Leno (Lecomte 45'), Castagne (Tete 45'), Andersen (Diop 45'), Cuenca (Bassey 45'), Sessegnon (Esenga 63'), Lukic (Berge 45'), Cairney (Reed 45'), Wilson (Adama 45'), King (Andreas 45'), Smith Rowe (Iwobi 45'), Muniz (Loupalo-Bi 63').