Fulham

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist at Craven Cottage

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham came into this game in great form, with a win and three draws from a tough run of fixtures that included matches against Tottenham, Brighton, Arsenal and Liverpool.

That had let to talk the club could make a real push for Europe this season. With that in mind, as manager Marco Silva was quick to admit, this was a glorious chance for a victory that slipped by against bottom-of-the-league Southampton, who had an interim manager in charge.

Fulham were by far the better team and only a couple of inspired saves from away goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale - to deny Alex Iwobi and Harry Wilson - kept it goalless.

Southampton offered so little in attack, so much so their fans started chanting 'we had a shot' when Adam Armstrong's 56th-minute effort was comfortably saved by Bernd Leno.

Silva's introduction of Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore in the 62nd minute looked to have swung the game in Fulham's favour. Traore instantly set up Wilson's chance and then should have been the match-winner himself with three minutes left on the clock, only to drag an angled effort wide of the post.

Next up for Fulham is a tasty west London derby against rivals Chelsea on 26 December.

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Fulham recorded a goalless draw in a Premier League game for the first time since May against Brentford. The Cottagers were on the joint-longest scoring streak in England's top four tiers before blanking in this draw with Southampton (15 games – level with Chelsea).

Josh King (17 years 354 days) became the second youngest player to start a Premier League game for Fulham, behind only Moussa Dembele (17 years 261 days) against Everton in March 2014. During his hour on the pitch, the youngster created the joint-most chances (2) and attempted the most dribbles (4).

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Fulham manager Marco Silva has been speaking to Premier League Productions following the goalless draw: "We should have won the game, definitely. We tried everything from the start. It is impossible to finish a game with more attacking players in our team.

"Our attacking line was never really a threat for them. We had two or three clear chances, but we should have created more. We have to be more incisive and more clinical.

"It's a missed opportunity for us definitely. That was a game that we win, if we take better decisions."

On 17-year-old midfielder Josh King making his first senior start: "He is a great talent. It is not a coincidence that he had a chance to start the game. He showed in some spells of the game what he is capable to do.

"It's an important moment of his career. Let's hope there are more to come."

On injuries suffered by Sander Berge and Sasa Lukic: "Not good signs for Sander and Sasa. Lukic was out a long time with his shoulder, but he felt something in final minutes."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Fulham's performance

What did you make of Southampton's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

There are five matches in the Premier League on Sunday.

• Everton v Chelsea - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Fulham v Southampton

• Leicester v Wolves

• Man Utd v Bournemouth - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Tottenham v Liverpool (16:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

All kick-off times 14:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.

For week 17, he takes on Reverend & the Makers singer Jon McClure.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

I saw Fulham first-hand at Anfield last week and they have a lovely balance to their team, with some decent options in their squad too.

Antonee Robinson is making a strong case for being the best left-back in the league this season, and racked up a couple of assists against Liverpool.

There's only one winner here. Southampton have not got a new manager yet after sacking Russell Martin, and I can't see much changing for them.

I have some sympathy for Martin because, had he lost last season's play-off final, there is a good chance he would still be in his job.

But Southampton's players are already low on confidence, and they were beaten again by Liverpool in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

Let's face it, Saints are down already and I hope they are planning for next season in the Championship.

It will be interesting to see what brand of football their next manager plays, but I hope they get some points somewhere.

At the moment they have got even fewer points than Robbie Savage's Derby County team of 2007-08 had managed at this stage.

It would be nice for Saints to end up with one more point than Derby did when they eventually finished on 11, just so Robbie can keep that record of being part of the worst Premier League team ever - it's how he is best known.

McClure's prediction: 2-0

Marco Silva is doing a great job at Fulham. They play really tidy football and it is nice to see Raul Jimenez back doing the business after his serious injury, because he is a class player.

Read the full predictions and have your say

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Fulham boss Marco Silva has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Southampton (kick-off 14:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Right-back Kenny Tete "is going to be out for at least eight to 10 weeks" after picking up "a big knock" to his shin and knee against Liverpool.

• Joachim Andersen is available and so are Calvin Bassey and Tom Cairney after serving their respective bans.

• Andreas Pereira misses Sunday's game after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.

• More from Silva on Tete's injury: "We have Timothy Castagne to replace him. He was impressive last season. When he took Tete's place, Kenny couldn't win it back. This season it has been the other way round."

• On the festive schedule: "It is a great moment. It is intense and busy. We like to enjoy time with our families. We know what we are going to face, so we have time to spend with our families. Boxing Day is really good for football and as managers and players we should enjoy it."

• Silva says his side still have room for improvement but he is "really confident and ambitious" in what he wants to achieve at the club.

• On their strong defensive record: "I prefer to not concede. We have scored 15 games in a row, which is maybe the first time that's happened in the Premier League with Fulham - but we want clean sheets. It's our identity. We go into every game to win the football match and our goal for each match is to not concede."

• He said left-back Antonee Robinson "is always open to learn" and added: "His defensive set-up, his position and his body language is improving. That's because of the work from all of us with him. He puts all his energy in, every single day."

• On opponents Southampton, who are bottom of the league, Silva said: "Five weeks ago we played Wolves at home when they were in a bad moment and we didn't win the game. We have spoke about the approach for this game. Southampton have lots of Premier League quality."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Fulham are interested in 20-year-old Brighton and Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson, who has fallen out of favour at Amex Stadium, and want to sign him on a loan deal until the end of the season. (Independent), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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We asked for one thing - good or bad - that no-one is talking about regarding Fulham.

Here are some of your comments:

Gabriel: Sasa Lukic. He has been the mastermind for our midfield and defensively he has been outstanding.

Will: I would say Lukic is flying under the radar currently. When we first purchased him it seemed as if we had overpaid. Yet he is now a midfield stalwart who is key for our success.

Tom: I believe our position in the table belies our form. We are getting chances in every single game but the strikers we have cannot put them away like an Aleksandar Mitrovic would. Had we retained the Serb, on current form I think we would be top three already. Still, we are doing phenomenally well without a proven goalscorer.

Ollie: Sander Berge is getting nowhere near enough praise! Has slotted right into the team and has worked tirelessly having some great moments, like his timely clearance against Brentford. Great bit of business - hope we can make more smart signings like him in the future.

Matthew: Do we believe in ourselves as a European football club enough that we will bring in talent? Or will we take the opportunity to better balance the books by selling Antonee Robinson? This is the best-looking Fulham side in many years and club management need to make a clear indication as to whether this is the beginning of a new chapter where we compete for Europe, or if it is merely the decade-long high-point for a perennial mid-table club.

Fulham's first half of the season continued with a fine draw at Liverpool on Saturday to leave Marco Silva's side just four points off the Champions League places.

No-one at Craven Cottage is getting carried away, but what is behind their excellent form? Who is going under the radar but should not be?

Or is there something underlying that suggests this form cannot last?

Tell us, what is the one thing good or bad - that no-one is talking about right now?

Have your say - and come back on Wednesday for a selection of replies

Drew Heatley
Fan writer

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Football fans can be selfish. I firmly include myself in that.

But even I have to tell myself to get real when I find myself feeling like, despite two incredible points against Arsenal and now Liverpool, we should have got more.

We scored twice against Liverpool at Anfield, netting our second with just 15 minutes to go. But, as is often the case, we conceded late on.

The latest Fulham stat doing the rounds is that we have dropped a whopping 17 points from leading positions this season. Those points would send us six points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Now, context is key here, and there are a lot of ifs, buts and maybes at play. If my grandma had wheels, she would be a car etc.

Nevertheless, there is a concerning lack of concentration in key periods that stops us from challenging higher up the table. The narrative of late concessions is well established, but what is less covered is our penchant for conceding in the first 10 or 15 minutes of the second half.

It can only be a mental block, something that is harder to coach out than any technical element, but we saw it against Arsenal and we saw it again on Saturday against the league leaders.

The positives of those particular scenarios are that we scored first in both games and had something to hold on to. And, more impressively still, we rallied again at Anfield to regain the lead after Cody Gakpo had levelled things up following the break.

That takes intestinal fortitude - and Marco Silva's boys have it in spades.

This is our second-best Premier League points return after 16 games, and we have the opportunity to make our best haul from 17 if we get a result against bottom of the league Southampton at Craven Cottage on the weekend.

Yes, it is selfish, but I want no fewer than three points so I can tuck into my Christmas dinner knowing we are firmly in uncharted waters.

Find more from Drew Heatley at Fulhamish, external

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Liverpool and Fulham.

Here are some of your comments:

Liverpool fans:

Kevin: Gutsy Liverpool display, really dug in and put in a performance that shows exactly why they are the runaway Premier League leaders. Fulham have really performed well this season and ran Liverpool close, in a game where either side could have left Anfield with the three points.

James: Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson have been outstanding for us in previous years. However, it seems Trent doesn't want to be here anymore and unfortunately Robbo is starting to lose his edge and is becoming a liability. It's such a shame as, at one time, these two were the pinnacle of our success.

Carl: 75+ minutes with 10 men was a gutsy performance. The result was entirely down to the referee - he couldn't wait to book Liverpool players for minor fouls but the really big calls all went to Fulham. Issa Diop's foul on Robertson, and studs on the achilles of Ryan Gravenberch (an identical foul was a red card in mid-week). Robertson's foul was due to his injury from Diop. Fulham's time-wasting not addressed by ref.

Fraser: Seeing as we were playing with 10 men for almost the entire game, I'll take a point. However our defenders were pretty poor today, (with the exception of Virgil van Dijk). Lack of effort from Trent, Robbo is sadly not the same and Jarell Quansah is just lacking in confidence. Ibrahima Konate's absence is definitely present now. On the bright side, so glad to have Diogo Jota back - we missed him enormously.

Fulham fans:

Bob: Absolutely brilliant by Fulham! Ten-man Liverpool did enough to grab a point, which they deserved. Our defending for the most part was outstanding! Who would have said 2-2 before the game had been played. Emile Smith Rowe and Rodrigo Muniz should have started. Still, a well deserved point for Fulham.

Mario: Happy but unhappy at the same time. When they went down to 10 men, I think we all thought we could go on and solidify our lead, but this was Liverpool and we all know how they can get back into games. Having said that, another point from a fixture we all probably thought we would lose is great.

Peter: Fulham displayed heart and courage and fought to the end though were likely still a little too respectful at Anfield with a man advantage. Antonee Robinson was spectacular. Easily man of the match for Fulham.

Simon: We're having a great season and are lucky to have a number of players such as Alex Iwobi, Bernd Leno, Diop, Sasa Lukic and Kenny Tete who are playing the best football of their careers. Chief among them is Robinson. The left-back and captain was unplayable at times yesterday. Two assists and Mohamed Salah won't have faced a more difficult opponent all season. As a team though, if only we could take more of our chances.

Sarah Mulkerrins
Final Score reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Everyone will obviously want to talk about Liverpool, but a word for Fulham. Their defensive organisation held title challengers Arsenal last week, and a week later they did the same at the home of the league leaders. They've only won twice in 38 away games at Anfield and I'm sure they believed after going ahead for the second time, they could leave with a win.

Antonee Robinson was outstanding. All of Fulham's threat came down the left and it was two quality balls from Robinson that led to their goals. His work rate in defence was equally good and he pressed Salah hard in defence as the Fulham defence as a whole held strong.

For Liverpool, I wonder how they will feel on Monday about this point. They showed guts and determination to bounce back from going a player down early after Andy Robertson's red card. They showed resilience too as they twice came from behind.

A note on the impact of Diogo Jota, who came on as a sub in the second half. Despite the injury, he looked sharp and was able to find the quality to cut through that stubborn Fulham defence. That no doubt will be a big bright spot for Slot.

Highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Liverpool 2-2 Fulham

• Nottingham Forest 2-1 Aston Villa

Harry Poole
BBC Sport journalist

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While there will be some disappointment that Fulham were unable to take all three points against a Liverpool side forced to play around 89 minutes (including stoppage-time) with 10-men, there were positives for Marco Silva to take from a breathless encounter at Anfield.

Not least the performance of left-back Antonee Robinson, who continues to shine on Fulham's left this season.

The 27-year-old United States international assisted both of his side's goals against leaders Liverpool, picking out Andreas Pereira with a cross before teeing up Rodrigo Muniz in the second half.

Robinson has now assisted 11 Premier League goals since the start of last season – the most of any defender in the competition.

To Liverpool's credit this rarely felt like 11 men against 10 but Silva will feel his side should have seen out victory after Muniz scored Fulham's second after 76 minutes.

Nevertheless, it has been an encouraging start to the campaign and Fulham will be looking up the table after losing just four of their first 16 games.

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Fulham boss Marco Silva to BBC Match of the Day after today's draw: "The game is emotional here. The crowd plays a big part and with the quality of Liverpool, they can almost be unstoppable. it's the risk you have to take because we believe in ourselves. Liverpool are so good and they are winning so good, they are an aggressive team. Everything went to plan for us on the left-hand side.

"I think the red card created more emotion in the game, the crowd played their part. We had to keep more of the ball and make them run more. We reacted well and had so many times three against four, the decision-making has to be better. We conceded a late goal in a moment we were too open and the quality of Jota made an impact. We should have taken three.

"With one player more and leading the score, we should have been more narrow. We were too open and their composure was decisive.

"The momentum is here and in our group. I have to give credit to our players for their attitude and commitment. We have to go in the same way against Southampton next week."

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Fulham captain Antonee Robinson speaking to BBC Match of the Day after today's draw: "We were on even footing and then we scored and they got a red card. They took a lot of risks pushing men high and they were rewarded for it, there was space for us on the break but we didn't capitalise.

"They piled the pressure on and were really positive, They brought Jota on. I felt like Salah was getting the better of me in the first half, I was on a booking but I felt more myself in the second half.

"We've been managing to pick up results against top teams, that's the difference from last year. We've got injuries. It's all about getting everyone back and staying consistent."