'We deserved more from the game' - Silvapublished at 21:39 26 January
21:39 26 January
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Fulham boss Marco Silva, speaking to MOTD 2: "It's a tough one to take. We were better than them and the dominant team. Or pressure was good, our reaction was good. Second half was a bit more balanced. Our pressure wasn't so intense like the first half.
"A real lucky goal for them gave them the lead but our reaction was good. We had a good chance from a corner and a clearance on the line. We should have taken more from the game and we deserved more from the game.
"For Fulham nothing is easy and we need to work hard to get the luck our way."
Fulham 0-1 Man Utd - failing to take chancespublished at 21:33 26 January
21:33 26 January
Gary Rose BBC Sport journalist
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Fulham will no doubt view this as an opportunity missed, with Manchester United having been so lacklustre until they got the winner late on thanks to Lisandro Martinez's deflected strike.
It felt like it would take an element of luck of moment of individual brilliance to win it, but had Fulham taken some of their very presentable opportunities in the first half then the game may have panned out differently.
Raul Jimenez was the biggest culprit as he failed to convert two good chances and in the second half Fulham were simply not good enough and always in danger of being caught out like they were.
It brings to an end their good form at home, with this their first defeat there since November.
Fulham 0-1 Man Utd: Did you know?published at 21:19 26 January
21:19 26 January
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Fulham are winless in their last five Premier League home games (D4 L1) since a 3-1 win over Brighton at the start of December.
This was just the second time Marco Silva's side failed to score at home in the league this season (0-0 vs Southampton in December).
Fulham 0-1 Man Utd - send us your thoughtspublished at 20:58 26 January
Sutton's predictions: Fulham v Man Utdpublished at 12:31 26 January
12:31 26 January
I was totally gutless last week, going for Manchester United to draw with Brighton.
I put it down to the stick I get on social media whenever I predict United will lose getting to me and clouding my judgement, and it is not going to happen again.
My gut was telling me Brighton are a better team than United but I didn't listen. I have the same feeling about Fulham and I am not going to ignore it.
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has backtracked a bit after calling his team "maybe the worst" United side ever when they lost to Brighton, claiming he was speaking more about himself.
I don't think that was a smart move, no matter what he meant by it. I like Amorim but being overly emotional is not going to help his cause.
In terms of this game, let's get it right - Fulham are bright going forward, they are going to be bolder than United will be, and they will take the game to them.
That scenario has suited United in the past, but the outcome of this game really depends on whether they turn up, and at the moment that feels like the toss of a coin.
Silva on 'competitive' Fulham, Amorim and injury updatespublished at 15:44 24 January
15:44 24 January
Tyrese King BBC Sport journalist
Fulham boss Marco Silva has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Manchester United at Craven Cottage (kick-off 19:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
The matchday squad will "not be massively different from the past few games". Kenny Tete will not be available and Reiss Nelson is still "recovering" but hopes to be "ready soon".
On compatriot and United counterpart Ruben Amorim: "We are from the same area, and in football it's easy to create relationships with people who are around you. We had some shared moments as professional footballers in different clubs. And now we have a normal professional working relationship."
Asked about United's form, Silva said: "My focus and ours is on the match on Sunday. I'm not here to make comments on Manchester United. It's clear that some of their results could be better - but that's it. They are a massive club with quality and are capable of playing against Manchester City,Liverpool, and Arsenal. We need to focus on us."
He added: "All the noise around Manchester United isn't new to us. For many different reasons, they are always top of the headlines, but this will not impact out preparation or what we will do during the game."
Fulham have been "really competitive" throughout the season which has led to a boost in confidence from both the players and the fans.
Silva is looking forward to Sunday: "These are the type of games that everybody likes to play - under the lights at Craven Cottage. It's going to be a top atmosphere."
Fulham v Man Utd: Did you know?published at 13:06 24 January
13:06 24 January
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Since losing twice at Fulham in 2009 (2-0 in March and 3-0 in December), Manchester United are unbeaten in eight Premier League visits to Craven Cottage, winning the past seven in a row.
Fulham have scored two goals in their past last five Premier League matches. Only once in their top-flight history have they netted two or more goals in six games in a row, doing so between February and April 1966.
Efficient or ineffective?published at 08:05 24 January
08:05 24 January
This Premier League pursuit becomes a lot easier if you take your chances.
BBC Sport has checked in on some data comparing goals versus expected goals this season.
You can see from the bar graph some teams aren't finding the goals (yellow) to outstrip the expected goals they should score (black).
Tottenham, Manchester City, Arsenal, Brentford, Newcastle, Brighton, Fulham, Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Leicester have all scored more than expected.
Wolves in particular have found the net 32 times from an expected 23.56 - a significant overperformance.
League leaders Liverpool are pretty much bang on in returning what they should, while Arsenal have outperformed, with 43 goals from an expected 37.78.
Bournemouth - 36 goals from an expected 43 - are leaving opportunities on the table.
Gossip: Fulham make Royal enquirypublished at 07:28 22 January
07:28 22 January
Fulham have enquired about AC Milan and Brazil defender Emerson Royal, 26, who will be available if the Serie A club sign England full-back Kyle Walker, 34, from Manchester City. (Times, external)
'Long may this duo reign'published at 12:24 21 January
12:24 21 January
Drew Heatley Fan writer
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Sometimes a player is so good it takes two to replace them.
Fulham caught lightning in a bottle with Joao Palhinha and enjoyed two seasons with him in the heart of our midfield. When he left in the summer, many – rightly – asked how we were going to cope.
The make-up of our central midfield has caused much debate this season, and Saturday's win against Leicester showed definitively what our optimum combination is.
Summer signing Sander Berge returned after five games injured and slotted in alongside Sasa Lukic, himself brought in six months before Palhinha left for Bayern Munich, to put in a masterful performance and show that the pair can provide what our former Portuguese hero could – plus a whole lot more.
The duo gave Emile Smith Rowe more freedom to attack ahead of them, something that immediately paid dividends as ESR notched his fourth goal of the season after a tricky few weeks.
Marco Silva has come in for some criticism this season for persisting with Andreas Pereira in the eight alongside Lukic, sometimes out of necessity, like when Berge was sidelined, but sometimes in a bloody-minded attempt to shove a square peg into a round hole.
It has stunted the Brazilian's campaign; he's more suited to the 10, but with that occupied by Smith Rowe, combined with the return of Berge, Pereira's finding himself staring into the abyss.
I've mentioned before how Lukic has been the biggest winner since Joao's exit, continuing to be proficient in the much-talked-about 'dark arts', evidenced by his nine yellow cards so far this season. But the addition of Berge, whose engine and industry enable him to not only provide further defensive steel, but link defence and attack with pinpoint passing and purposeful runs, has created the perfect blend.
Long may this duo reign. After all, two midfielders are better than one.
Leicester 0-2 Fulham - the fans' verdictpublished at 09:46 20 January
09:46 20 January
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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Leicester and Fulham.
Here are some of your comments:
Leicester fans:
Simon: Just when you think things can't get worse, they get worse! The decision to sack Steve Cooper and replace him with a relatively novice manager, was pure gross incompetence.
Neil: This game was the summary of four years of financial mismanagement by Jon Rudkin and the board at LCFC. Years of poor recruitment and bad decision-making, crippling the club with debt and awful deadwood players on long-term deals. We need a change at the top and the owner needs to make a decision and sack the people responsible for this utter mess.
Ian: Once again, tactically naïve and we concede straight after half time. Players don't look happy and chants of 'you don't know what you're doing!' Unfortunately, for me, that's my belief done and dusted. We can talk about 'the great escape' year, but that relied on guts, determination and fight. I don't see those things now. Too passive, not enough quality. It was good while it all lasted. It will be a long while before we taste it again.
James: You don't know what you're doing. Sack the Board. Get out of our club. You know it is desperate times when the happy-clappy fanbase turn against the hierarchy. Baffling subs, puzzling starting XI, mixed with some disorganised chaos. All the goodwill of the Christmas season for Ruud has now well and truly expired. The freefall continues, exponentially.
Fulham fans:
Robert: It appears to be a comfortable win, but you have to wonder, do we practice shooting during training? We only managed two efforts on target against one of the worst teams in the league. A clean sheet is nice after the defensive errors at West Ham.
Will: Great to get back to winning ways, not only for the confidence of the team but for Smith Rowe. An overdue goal from him really helps his confidence. I think he has the ability to create out of nothing and we need that.
David: After a poor-ish first half the goal ignited the game. We didn't look like losing it from then on. If we'd taken our chances it could easily have been three or four-nil. Berge was impressive coming back from injury, if only we'd had him at West Ham. Bring on the Red Devils next week.
Ben: Pretty solid, albeit Leicester weren't great. Great for Smith Rowe to get another goal. Hopefully it will boost his confidence. Very controlled midfield performance, and most importantly an elusive clean sheet! Bring on the tougher run!
Catch up on the Premier League actionpublished at 11:15 19 January
11:15 19 January
Watch highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures.
Leicester 0-2 Fulham: Silva's side bounce back in stylepublished at 18:01 18 January
18:01 18 January
Charlotte Coates BBC Sport journalist
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After going three Premier League games without a win, Fulham needed to start putting points on the board if they were to keep their European ambitions alive and that is exactly what they did.
Marco Silva's side have only jumped up one spot in the league table but are just five points behind Newcastle in fourth.
After a frustrating first half in which they struggled to hit the back of the net, Fulham flew out of the blocks for the second period and Emile Smith Rowe's immense bravery gave his side the lead.
Once in front, Fulham took control of the match and only looked like doubling their lead - something they did through Adama Traore 20 minutes later.
With just five losses on the board so far this season, Fulham are proving an extremely difficult side to get the better of.
But, Silva thinks his side should be higher than ninth in the table as he said to BBC Match of the Day: "We should have much more points to be frank. I am always ambitious but performance wise, the way we've been playing and been dominant in most of the games we should have taken more points but in the Premier League the difference and details are so small and sometimes they haven't been in our favour."
'We are a really ambitious group'published at 17:42 18 January
17:42 18 January
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Fulham manager Marco Silva talking to BBC Match of the Day after today's victory: "It was a professional win and good victory. It was really difficult in the first half, they started quicker than us and some of the set pieces were a wake up for us. After we had good control of the game, there weren't many chances, but we started the second half well with the goal and from there we built the win, scored the second and had chances to score the third. It was a well-deserved three points and a good reaction from the defeat by West Ham.
On being ninth in the table: "We should have much more points to be frank. I am always ambitious but performance wise, the way we've been playing and been dominant in most of the games we should have taken more points but in the Premier League the difference and details are so small and sometimes they haven't been in our favour.
"There have been some big improvements from last season, both in terms of results and points, and we've performed better this season than some spells last season. The players have been great, always with the mindset to learn and open minds to receive information and feedback. It has been a very good journey for us and we want to make the fans proud. We will fight for more because we are a really ambitious group."
Leicester 0-2 Fulham: Did you know?published at 17:29 18 January
17:29 18 January
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Fulham have won four of their 11 Premier League away games this season (D4 L3), as many league victories as they picked up on the road across the whole of the 2023-24 campaign (W4 D6 L9).
Leicester 0-2 Fulham - send us your thoughtspublished at 16:53 18 January
Sutton's predictions: Leicester v Fulhampublished at 11:15 18 January
11:15 18 January
'Foxes never quit' is Leicester's motto, but it is starting to look like they have done.
Ruud van Nistelrooy's side are on a run of six straight league defeats and are in desperate trouble.
I was too generous to them in my prediction before they played Crystal Palace on Wednesday because I thought they would score, but Palace won that one very comfortably in the end.
It's not a surprise to see Leicester struggling now because I think it's a case where they have been a mess all season.
There are people out there who will think this has been coming, because they sacked Steve Cooper and then seemed to give Van Nistelrooy the job off the back of two wins against them with Manchester United.
He was a great player who had his managerial apprenticeship with PSV, and I admired the job he did with United too, so this situation is not on him - he just inherited this team.
It is always a struggle for promoted teams, but there seemed to be a different expectation from Leicester fans because of their recent history, and a belief they would stay up easily then kick on.
The Premier League does not work like that, and they have found that out.
Fulham are not on a great run either, although they come into this game off the back of a lot of draws rather than defeats.
I thought Marco Silva's side deserved something out of their defeat to West Ham on Tuesday, and they won't slip up again - I can see Leicester scoring, because they are due a goal, but Fulham will have too much quality for them.
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