Match Report
Fulham (0) 0-2 (0) Burnley
Premier League Match Day 18 23/24 at Craven Cottage
Saturday 23rd December 2023 KO: 15:00
Referee:
Rebecca Welch (Durham County)
|
| Match Stats |
Fulham |
Burnley |
| Goals |
(0)0 |
2 (0) |
|
| Scorers |
- |
Odobert 47 |
|
- |
Berge 66 |
| , |
| Goal attempts |
19 |
7 |
| On target |
5 |
2 |
| Shooting Accuracy |
26% |
29% |
| Possession |
66% |
34% |
| Passes |
689 |
356 |
| Passes Success |
85% |
75% |
| Corners |
8 |
6 |
| Tackles |
6 |
13 |
| Tackles Success |
70% |
57% |
| Saves |
0 |
5 |
| Fouls |
5 |
17 |
| Offsides |
2 |
3 |
| Yellows |
2 |
1 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source: SkySports |
Fulham fell to defeat on a tough Saturday afternoon at a Christmassy Craven Cottage.
Wilson Odobert got Burnely ahead right at the start of the second half, before Sander Berge doubled the lead twenty minutes later.
After the Carabao Cup success on Tuesday Marco Silva kept the rotation going bringing in Tom Cairney and Timothy Castagne to start in place of Harrison Reed and Kenny Tete. Meanwhile, Willian was out of the squad through injury.
Burnley had the game’s first real sight of goal after six minutes, when Vitinho’s cross almost found the head of Lyle Foster if not for some smart defending by Castagne.
Fulham got on the front foot thereafter and had the first shot on goal 13 minutes in, when Harry Wilson weaved his way past a few defenders down the right before poking an effort towards the net which James Trafford had to parry. João Palhinha and Alex Iwobi both then had attempts of their own as Fulham pushed for the opener.
Andreas Pereira went close with a free-kick he’d won himself 30 yards from goal which took a deflection off a teammate to almost creep in at the far post, but nothing came of it in the end.
A pinpoint long-range ball from Tosin’s left foot got Iwobi on his bike down the flank. He did well to hold it up before slotting Antonee Robinson through and a few prods towards goal caused more trouble for the Clarets before it was cleared.
Another searching ball over the top was next as the Whites looked to go ahead, this time Palhinha’s first time pass found Rodrigo Muniz whose cannoned shot was narrowly off target.
Foster had Burnley’s best opportunity of the half with a minute before it’s close after being played through by Odobert, but Tosin did well to stand him up and block the threat.
A last-gasp Fulham flurry ended a goalless half when another blast from Iwobi came from some corner chaos, but in the end Burnley had enough bodies in the way of the goal to prevent the deadlock being broken before the break.
Vincent Kompany’s side came flying out of the blocks in the second half and were ahead within moments of the restart, when Odobert played a one-two with Foster before curling it past Bernd Leno to put his side in front.
Fulham struggled to create any sort of clear-cut chances despite dominating the ball and paid the price when Berge broke away and added a second for Burnley with 25 minutes to go.
Fresh from coming on, Bobby De Cordova-Reid teed up a cross towards fellow substitute Carlos Vinicius, who stooped down to header it but Trafford stood firm.
Robinson got in behind enemy lines next after some silky link-up between Iwobi and Vinicius, but his ping towards goal was kept out by another Burnley block as the Whites attempted to get back into the contest.
Castagne got himself to the byline before blasting one at the Burnley 'keeper with the clock ticking down, but things weren't falling for Fulham this afternoon and Vinicius summed that up by putting his follow up over the bar.
Opta Stats
Fulham have lost a Premier League home game against a promoted side without scoring for the first time since March 2012 (0-3 against Swansea City).
Fulham had 19 shots against Burnley, their most in a Premier League game without scoring since October 2022 against Everton (24 shots).
Fulham manager Marco Silva: "Disappointing result for us. Good first half, we controlled it and were the best team. We created three or four clear chances and when it wasn't the goalkeeper, it was the defender off the line.
"When you are so dominant and create chances like we did, you should score and if not, the game is open.
"The feedback was to be more dynamic in the second half, move the ball a little bit quicker to open gaps and we started in the worst way possible. After that moment we didn't play in the way we normally do.
"We conceded the second goal in a way that cannot help. We gave the midfielder the chance to run 20 or 30 yards with the ball without opposition to have a shot."
In the end the game was seen out by the visitors, and Fulham will look to bounce back on Boxing Day in Bournemouth.
Fulham : Leno, Castagne, Tosin, Bassey, Robinson (Ballo-Toure 82), Palhinha (Reed 82), Cairney, Wilson, Pereira (De Cordova-Reid 65), Iwobi, Muniz (Vinícius 64)
Unused substitutes: Rodak, Tete, Lukic, Diop, Harris
Booked: Bassey (25,f), Palhinha (56,f)
Burnley : Trafford, Vitinho, O'Shea, Beyer, Taylor, Larsen (Tresor 45 (Delcroix 89)), Berge, Brownhill, Odobert (Roberts 80), Foster (Rodriguez 65), Amdouni (Redmond 80)
Unused substitutes: Zaroury, Cullen, Obafemi, Muric
Goals:
Odobert 47 (Fulham give the ball away inside their own half and Odobert plays a quick one-two with Foster.
The striker tees up the winger for a first-time effort, and Odobert sends a superb bending shot into the top right corner. Leno had no chance!
FPL assist: Foster)
Berge 66 (Berge was just allowed to run and run!
The midfielder powers through the middle of the pitch and gets to the edge of the area, shooting low and goal and finding the bottom left corner.
Leno got his fingertips to it but couldn't keep it out!)
Booked: Beyer (61)
Referee:
Rebecca Welch (Durham County)
Attendance: 23,598