Brighton 1 Fulham 1
Roberto de Zerbi’s side welcomed Fulham to the Amex Stadium, fresh off the back of a fantastic win against Ajax in Europe during the week. The visitors have been struggling for goals and Marco Silva will have gone into this hoping to see a performance as bright as their pink away strip.
The Seagulls started well and Dahoud tried his luck from outside the box but Leno got down well to palm the effort away. Mitoma picked it up and fed the ball to Lallana who clipped a cross to the back post but somehow Adingra failed to score as he almost stumbled it over the line.
Leno did well to clear the ball with his feet as he was laying on the ground but the Fulham manager will not have been pleased with what he was seeing from his side in the early stages. Brighton were cutting through his defence like a hot knife through butter.
Gross played the ball to Ferguson on the edge of the box, he took one touch to steady himself and then side-footed a shot with his left foot past the Fulham keeper and into the bottom corner. Great finish by the young striker.
Credit: @OfficialBHAFC
He almost got his second as he was found in the box but as he tried to beat Leno from a tight angle the Fulham keeper was more than up to the task as he kept his side in the game heading into the interval.
Early in the second half, Brighton had a free kick just outside the box. With players standing around the ball, the last person you expected to see hit it was Lewis Dunk. His deft approach and shot saw his effort clip the top of the crossbar to the surprise of many.
At this stage you felt another goal would put this game to bed. Just as thoughts went towards this, Brighton gave the ball away, trying to play out from the back. Palhinha then picked it up and bent it in the top corner from some distance outside the box.
Fulham grew in confidence and nearly took the lead as only a smart save from Steele could deny Muniz. It was great play from Willian to create the opportunity as he proved he did not need a ‘Fast Car’ as his silky skills created the opening.
De Zerbi’s side were not done themselves and they came forward with Mitoma, they worked the ball into the box and Fati almost scored, only the out-stretched leg of Leno in the Fulham goal could deny Brighton a winner.
Fati continued to create problems and forced a corner late on. The cross found Webster at the back post and his looping header had Leno beaten but Robinson got back to head ball over the bar on his own goal line.
Credit: @FulhamFC
Brighton dominated the game and had the lion’s share of possession but were seemingly hit by a sucker punch from the visitors. In all fairness, The Seagulls created their own problems, trying to play the ball out from a goal kick and losing possession in a dangerous area.
Marco Silva will be pleased with the point, in tricky conditions on the south coast as the rain poured down. Performances like this will be key to Fulham’s league position this season, taking their chances and defending as a unit when under pressure.
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