24 August 2024
Fulham 2 Leicester City 1
Fulham welcomed Leicester City to Craven Cottage, with both teams looking to register a first win of the Premier League season. The Cottagers’ two new signings, Andersen and Berge, were introduced to the fans but not involved in this game. It was a packed house in West London on a grey and wet Saturday afternoon for this fixture.
The hosts started positively and were probing The Foxes’ defence. A ball into Traore on the right saw him cut inside and get a fizzing shot away at goal. Hermansen reacted well and managed to palm the effort wide for a corner. It was a thunderous effort from the winger, not surprising when he often looks like he is ‘on the juice’. Adama does not miss any form of gym day.
Marco Silva’s side continued to try and break down the Leicester resistance. Muniz had a brief glimpse of goal but his header was straight at the visitors’ keeper. Iwobi was the next player to try his luck but his shot was too close to Hermansen and he gathered comfortably. Craven Cottage was bouncing and the fans were pleased with what they were seeing out on the pitch.
Steve Cooper’s side managed to break on the counter after some lovely skill from Buonanotte in the middle of the park. His pass found De Cordova-Reid who opted to shoot from some distance. Leno was at full stretch as he just managed to tip the effort around the post. It was a warning to The Cottagers that Leicester could transition from defence to attack quickly.
Traore played the ball into Smith Rowe who was in acres of space out on the left. The ex-Arsenal midfielder headed straight towards goal, superbly slotting his shot into the far corner to give the hosts the lead. The roof nearly came off Craven Cottage as the ball settled in the goal. Moments like this are why they splashed the cash to tempt him across London.
Robinson was causing all sorts of problems for the visitors down the left. He clipped a brilliant cross to the back post and it seemed certain Fulham would double their lead. With Hermansen scrambling across his goal, somehow, Muniz managed to head wide of the target. The striker held his head in his hands as he realised what a glaring opportunity had been passed up.
With the hosts only having a slender lead, Leicester were very much still in this match. Fatawu managed to force a corner for the visitors. As the cross was whipped in, Faes headed home to pull The Foxes level. Immediately the whistle went when the flag went up on the far side. Thankfully, for the game itself, a VAR review sent the referee to the monitor who decided to give the goal. The replay suggested there was no reason to not allow it.
Into the second half and Fulham started to press once again. Iwobi crossed into the box and as Vestergaard got a head to it, he nearly sent it into the top corner of his own goal. He will be more relieved than anyone to see it land on the roof of the net. Hermansen couldn’t get anywhere near it. Close shave for Cooper’s Foxes in the capital.
Faes almost turned from hero to zero when he gifted the ball to Traore wide in the box. He spotted the run of Muniz and laid it into his path but he blasted his shot over. That was two big chances that the Fulham striker had missed in this game. He did not seem to have the shooting boots on that we saw from him towards the end of last season.
Fulham continued to create half chances from corners. Firstly Tete rose to head over the bar when he should have been doing much better. Then Muniz tried an acrobatic bicycle kick from the edge of the box. It whistled into the stands, narrowly shaving the crossbar on its journey. That would have been a goal of the month contender had it gone in.
The home fans did not have to wait long until they had re-established their lead. Once again it was the wide men causing problems as Iwobi run onto a pass and headed into the box. He got a shot away from a tight angle and despite getting a big hand to the effort, it ended up in the back of the net. The keeper looked disappointed and felt that he should have done better.
Fulham claimed an all-important first win of the season and beating sides like Leicester at home could be key to their Premier League safety. It was a solid performance from Marco Silva’s side and nobody could deny that they deserved the win. If anything, it should have been by a more comfortable scoreline. The Foxes on the other hand were shown just how tough life on the road in the Premier League will be.
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