Fulham

Bobbie Jackson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham have just 11 games left to play in the Premier League this campaign and appear to be building momentum at the right time as they look to try and better last season's 10th place finish.

After the drama of recording a late win at Manchester United last Saturday, it was much more comfortable this weekend when Brighton travelled to Craven Cottage.

It is just the second time this season that Fulham have won successive league games.

Harry Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz were the stars of the show, combining for Fulham's opening two goals to give them a strong platform at half time.

Muniz teed up Wilson to curl home the opener and it was roles reversed for the second with the Brazilian heading in the Welshman's cross.

Fulham have been strong defensively at home this term with just Manchester City (11), Liverpool (11) and Arsenal (12) conceding fewer than their tally of 15 when hosting.

The Cottagers had to rely on that strong defensive record in the second half as Brighton pushed for a route back into the encounter.

But it was Fulham who struck again with substitute Adama Troare scoring his first for the club in additional time.

A wholly positive performance from Marco Silva's men, who have won three of their last four in the league and have only tasted defeat once in the last six games.

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham goalscorer Harry Wilson, speaking to Premier League Productions: "We knew going into the game that Brighton would have large spells of the ball.

"We worked on it all week to make the most of when we could get it.

"Although they had a lot of the ball, we had the better chances and probably could have scored more.

"Rodrigo [Muniz] the last few weeks has been amazing. The goals have come and he deserves that. He always makes it hard for defenders and battles for the ball. The way he set up my goal shows that.

"We took the confidence of the result from last week into this game. To go to Old Trafford without Willian and Joao [Palhinha] and win was great. When we're on it we can go toe-to-toe with anyone in this league."

• Fulham have never lost in eight Premier League games against Brighton (W4 D4) – no side have they faced more without ever losing in the competition (also 8 v Norwich).

• After winning their first two Premier League away games this season, Brighton have won just two of their last 12 on the road (D3 L7), losing three of their last four.

• Since the start of February, only Bukayo Saka (6) has scored more Premier League goals Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz (5).

• After scoring in a club record 32 consecutive league games from the start of March 2023, Brighton have now failed to score in five of their last 11. Four of these matches have come in their last seven away games, with three of those being in London.

• Adama Traore scored his first Premier League goal for Fulham, and his first in the competition for almost exactly a year, since netting Wolves’ winner against Tottenham on March 4th last season.

• Brighton have made 103 changes to their starting XI in the Premier League this season, their most in a single campaign in the competition, with their seven changes today their joint-most in a single match.

Fulham saw off a potentially distracted Brighton, who have a Europa League tie against Roma on Thursday, in the Premier League at Craven Cottage.

Harry Wilson beautifully curled in the opener to set Fulham on their way following tenacious work from Rodrigo Muniz to win the ball high up the field.

It was roles reversed for the second as Wilson returned the favour when delivering a teasing ball for Muniz to convert with his head from six yards out, scoring his fifth goal of the season, with all of those strikes coming in the past five games.

The game opened up and became a more exciting spectacle at both ends after half-time as Brighton brought on attacking duo Simon Adingra and Ansu Fati and committed bodies to the attack in search of a route back into the game.

Evan Ferguson had two big opportunities to score, with his first effort rolling agonisingly wide of the far post and his second well saved by a sprawling Bernd Leno, while substitute Facundo Buonanotte struck the base of a post.

With every Brighton outfield player in opposition territory as the game ticked into additional time, Fulham won the ball on the halfway line through Bobby de Cordova-Reid, who raced forward and squared for Adama Traore to score his first goal for the club.

Fulham stay 12th in the table and Brighton dropped to ninth.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

Fulham fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Brighton fans?

Follow all of the reaction here

There are seven games being played in the Premier League on Saturday and we will bring you every moment.

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries and get live text updates here

Radio commentaries

• Nottingham Forest v Liverpool

• Luton Town v Aston Villa

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

For this weekend's games, he takes on Sam McTrusty and Ross McNae from rock band Twin Atlantic.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

I was a bit surprised that Brighton went out of the FA Cup to Wolves in midweek, but then they have been inconsistent for most of the season.

After a strong start where they won four of their first five league games, the Seagulls have only managed back-to-back wins once in all competitions. Kaoru Mitoma's back injury is not going to help their cause either.

So, I am not going to look past Fulham here. They deservedly beat Manchester United at Old Trafford after carrying a threat all game, and Rodrigo Muniz has really impressed me in the past few weeks.

Sam's prediction: 1-2

Ross' prediction: 0-2

See the full list of predictions here

Marco Silva has been speaking to the media before Fulham's match against Brighton on Saturday.

Here are the main lines from his news conference:

• Two key players remain out for the Whites: "Raul Jimenez is still out, not in contention for the game. Joao [Palhinha], as you know, is suspended. All other players will be available."

• He is very happy with striker Rodrigo Muniz: "If Rodrigo is going to start again, I am 100% sure he can score. He's in a great moment. It was a great week for him with the way he's been working and preparing himself. He's improving step by step and day by day. I'm really pleased for that. I also have to mention Armando Broja who's had a very good week."

• On Fulham's ambitions for the rest of the season: "We have many things to keep fighting for and achieve. It's not something that's always in my mind but I always want more and I am always demanding more from everybody in this club. We want to improve our away form and keep fighting for points."

• On opponents Brighton who have never beaten Fulham in the Premier League: "They are a very good side who are not easy to play against. We have to be aggressive in some moments, organised in others. After a good performance, we want to continue in this way and the three points are in our mind."

• On the reverse fixture against the Seagulls in October that finished 1-1: "That was really tough for us. In the first half, almost everything was with Brighton, but our reaction in the second half was really good. Tomorrow, we want to be on the front foot from the first minute."

• He respects counterpart Roberto de Zerbi: "He made an impact straight away to get the players to play. [He has] brave ideas, and they have the capacity to have possession for long moments to take energy from the opposition. He's doing a great job."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences

Here are the key facts and figures before Saturday's game between Fulham and Brighton in the Premier League.

• Fulham have never lost to Brighton in seven Premier League meetings; only against Norwich City (eight) have the Cottagers played more matches in the competition without ever losing, while it is the most the Seagulls have faced a side in the Premier League without ever winning.

• Brighton are winless in all five of their Premier League away games against London sides so far this season, drawing two and losing three. They have not lost four games in the capital since their debut Premier League campaign of 2017-18.

• Only Sheffield United (11) have failed to score in more different Premier League games this season than Fulham (10). However, the Cottagers found the net in all four of their league games in February, having failed to do so in five of their previous six beforehand.

• Brighton have made 96 changes to their starting line-ups in the Premier League this season, at least 25 more than any other side. Only in 2019-20 (99) have they ever made more across a single campaign in the competition.

• Alex Iwobi’s late winner for Fulham against Manchester United on Saturday was his fourth Premier League goal of the season, his most in a single campaign. Only once has he scored in consecutive appearances in the competition, doing so in March/April 2016 with Arsenal.

• Pascal Gross has either scored or assisted a goal in each of his last four Premier League appearances (one goal, four assists). Only Kaoru Mitoma in March/April last year has ever done so in five consecutive games for Brighton.

BBC Sport pundit Michael Brown has been picking his underrated XI of the Premier League season so far.

Bernd Leno

The age Leno is at now, the amount of games he has played, he just has a calmness and presence about him. He played over 200 games for Bayer Leverkusen, moved to Arsenal and became number one before the change there, and then made the move to Fulham.

I feel he has got better and better and he is so composed at what he does with limited mistakes. He is a bit of difference-maker for Fulham. He has that calmness and understanding and, at the age of 31, he is becoming a leader too. I think Fulham have got themselves a really solid player and they will want to keep hold of him.

Antonee Robinson

I watched Robinson's progress, I've watched his game understanding develop, I've watched how he has started to grow into teams. He left Wigan Athletic and it was a big loss for them at the time when Fulham got him.

He's just got that athleticism, calmness and a wonderful left foot. He knows when to travel, which I think is really important in that position. And he knows when to stay when they are under pressure. They had it spot on against Manchester United where he caused real problems down that left-hand side. He just has a great all-round game and I don't think many people will know too much about him. He has gone under the radar but he could step up into different teams.

Joao Palhinha

When you play for Fulham sometimes you can just be there and do your job, but I think Pahinha is prime in that position. When I got to 28-30, you just felt strong, had a better understanding of the game, the game management, when to take the ball and when to leave slots. His presence and the way he takes the ball, he can be aggressive, but also play really nicely on the eye, with short and long passes.

I think he has just got everything and when you look at the clubs who wanted to take him, even though he is under the radar, there are top clubs desperately trying to get him. At some point, one of them will.

It is going to be really, really tough for Fulham to keep hold of him. They turned down really big numbers for him to stay and I think it was important for the journey, you've got to give the club credit for that and you have to give him credit for that. That is one of the reasons I put him in the team because he has been a class act and I think it makes you more impressed by him with the way he has conducted himself in his football and temperament.

Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Sammy James
Fan writer

Saturday's win at Old Trafford was undoubtedly an all-time Fulham memory. It is not every day you score a 97th-minute winner at the "Theatre of Dreams".

The victory was completely deserved, too. Fulham were absolutely dominant for the entire game and, had we not scored that late winner, we would have been kicking ourselves for not coming away with three points.

Much was made of Rasmus Hojlund's absence for Manchester United, but we won that game without our best player, Joao Palhinha, and our most consistent performer, Willian.

Palhinha's replacement was Sasa Lukic, a man who has struggled for form ever since joining last January, but he was one of the best players on the park.

For me, I think Saturday was the pinnacle of the Marco Silva era so far.

He is so often overlooked when it comes to conversations about the league's top coaches, but performances like the one we saw against United prove that we have a world-class manager at the helm.

If Marco is properly backed in the transfer window this summer, I really think we could be in for a special season next year.

Sammy James can be found at Fulhamish, external

Arsenal, Liverpool and Bayern Munich are in the race to sign 28-year-old Fulham and Portugal midfielder Joao Palhinha in the summer. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

We asked you for your thoughts on Saturday's Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham.

Here are some of your comments:

Man Utd fans

Sue: In all honesty, I am almost glad that we lost against Fulham. I know that's a strange thing to say, but I have heard so much about Manchester United having 'turned a corner' that a reality check came at the right time. Things need to change at United sharpish - the fans know it.

Ewan: Erik ten Hag always struggles to get a result when player availablity is an issue, even when United are at home. Truly top class coaches can get something from games even when there are injuries in the squad. This is Man Utd and the manager should be able to cope with these situations, which are not uncommon after all.

Adam: We'll get knocked out of the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, then get a absolute hammering against Manchester City on Sunday and then it's back to square one. We can't blame Hojlund's injury for the performance today.

Adder: Very poor showing with a lack of energy, movement, desire and belief. Just so disappointing after such a good run, though I think recent results have flattered us. Injuries have hampered us again admittedly, but today was simply not good enough again.

Fulham fans

Will: What an absolutely incredible win, our first at the 'Theatre of Dreams' in over 20 years. Thought perhaps we had thrown it away at the end in classic Fulham style, but Alex Iwobi won it in the most dramatic fashion to complete a Nigerian double. Won’t forget this anytime soon, probably not ever.

Bob: What a win. Overall, we deserved the three points and it was a long time coming after a battling performance. We must though turn our chances into goals more often in matches. Well done to the lads and management of FFC. A big decision by Marco Silva to make all those changes and the main thing is they worked.

Olaf: One of the best performances of Fulham for many years.

Mike: I liked the way we took the game to United and should have been two up by half time. When Harrison Reed had to go off, we needed to reshape and looked to hold on. Was delighted when Iwobi hit the winner deep into 'Fergie Time'.

Tom Gayle
BBC Final Score reporter at Old Trafford

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham finally have some fresh content to preview future away games at Manchester United. For years they've been rolling out archive footage of their last win at Old Trafford, which prior to Saturday was way back in October 2003.

The goal-scoring footage of Lee Clark, Steed Malbranque and Junichi Inamoto, who sealed their 3-1 victory over 20 years ago, can now be refreshed to strikes from Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi.

And what a day it was for two fifths of the Nigeria international team’s ‘Innit Boys’ (a term used to describe members of the Super Eagles African Cup of Nations squad who were raised in the UK).

Both were starting a match for the first time post their Afcon final defeat to Ivory Coast. It was Bassey’s first ever goal in English football, and just the second of his professional career.

As for Iwobi, who deleted all posts from his Instagram account, following abuse received following the Afcon final, it was great to see him take a moment to celebrate his winning goal alone with away supporters in the corner of the East Stand, fans who’ve shown him nothing but love since returning to club football.

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's six Premier League matches.

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

Listen back to BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries in full on BBC Sounds:

Manchester United v Fulham

Bournemouth v Manchester City

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Michael Brown, former Fulham midfielder discussing their win over Manchester United on BBC Radio 5 Live: "It's all about the level of performance from Fulham, they've stuck at their task, the determination, they've kept making forward runs.

"It's amazing, they're missing their best player as well, let's not forget that - (Joao) Palhinha in the middle of the pitch, suspended today.

"It's shellshock around Old Trafford - just as you felt they were going to win it they lost it.

"Manchester United haven't been able to deal with Fulham all afternoon really and they have deserved this win.

"It's a big win for Fulham."

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham manager Marco Silva, speaking to BBC Match of the Day, about his team's first Premier League away win of the season: "It is a big win for us. For sure, a great feeling for our fans, who were loud from the first to the last whistle.

"The players deserved it, clearly the best team won the game.

"We were the team which played better, created more chances and had more control of the game.

"It is a fantastic feeling for us to come here and win against a side in a good run of form. We knew we would have to play at a high level and that's what we did.

"They had two or three moments as well, they are a quality team but we controlled it very well. I'm pleased how we played at the start of the second half.

"After we scored we knew there would be a reaction. We tried to play offside for their goal but there was not the synchronisation we wanted and as they pushed, we showed the mentality which we had missed in other away games. It was a great counter and a great finish.

"The players deserve great credit because they understood the plan and executed the plan. It was an open game, we don't change away or at home. This is our way."

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham matchwinner Alex Iwobi: "I'm over the moon right now to come back into the team and get the win here - there is no better feeling.

"We feel we performed really well and have been performing really well recently, it is just about getting the results."

Did you feel the opportunity had gone when Manchester United equalised? "Nah, because we always had the ability to create chances, we had so many in the final third, it was just about taking them and luckily I was able to take mine at the end."

On Adama Traore's influence in setting up the winner: "We all know he can drive us up the pitch and he's a threat. As soon as he has the ball it is head down for me, sprint towards the goal and he was able to find me.

"I took the touch inside I feel the keeper thought I would wrap it far corner, but I gave him the eyes and put it inside near post."

On what the win will do for Fulham: "This will give us a world of confidence and hopefully kick on. Everyone's emotion is high and we will have to dust down, but it is a confidence boost.

"It's a win for the memory bank."