Fulham 3-0 Brighton: Cottagers too strong for lacklustre Seasiders
Fulham snagged their second consecutive Premier League win of the season with a 3-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion at Craven Cottage. Harry Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz each scored goals in the first half, while Adama Traore finished off the game with a late strike.
Fulham aimed to continue their positive momentum from winning 2-1 against Manchester United in the previous weekend. They managed to score two goals during the first half, leading them into the break. Wilson scored a beautiful curling goal from within the box after 21 minutes. Soon after, Muniz scored a powerful goal from the pass that Wilson had provided just 11 minutes later.
Traore entered the game as a substitute and scored a goal in injury time, securing a win for the hosts. Marco Silva's team remains in 12th position, while the visitors have now only won five of their last 21 top-level matches. Manager Roberto De Zerbi acknowledged that his team is experiencing a challenging phase.
In Fulham's last match, Leno, Castagne, Adarabioyo, Bassey, Robinson, Reed, Lukic, Wilson, Pereira, Iwobi, and Muniz all put in solid performances. Leno was rated 7, Castagne and Adarabioyo scored a 6, while Bassey and Robinson both got a 7. Reed and Lukic were also both given a 7, but the star of the show was undoubtedly Wilson who earned a rating of 9. Pereira and Iwobi scored a respectable 7, while Muniz received an impressive 8. Overall, it was a strong team effort from Fulham.
Alternatives: Broja (half a dozen), Cairney (half a dozen), Traore (seven), De Cordova-Reid (half a dozen), Willian (half a dozen)
In Brighton's recent game, the players' individual performances were rated as follows: Steele scored a six, van Hecke also scored a six, Dunk achieved a score of six, Veltman earned a six, and Lamptey also received a six. Additionally, Webster scored a five, Baleba achieved a score of five, Estupinan scored six, Enciso earned a six, Lallana scored a six, and Ferguson also achieved a score of six.
Possible rewrite: The players who wore the numbers 5, 6, and 7 against the opposing team were Gross, Moder, and Adingra, respectively. In the second half, they were replaced by Fati and Buonanotte, who also contributed to the game. Overall, the substitutions proved to be effective in adding fresh legs and ideas to the team, especially in the attacking phase. However, the coach might still need to fine-tune the lineup and tactics in order to optimize the performance and cohesion of the squad.
Player who stood out the most in the match: Harry Wilson
Fulham's Back-to-Back League Victories
Fulham went into this game feeling confident after their excellent victory at Old Trafford in their previous match, which was possibly their best under the leadership of Silva. However, they wanted to shed their reputation for inconsistency under the guidance of the Portuguese manager.
Brighton was the perfect team to help achieve this goal. De Zerbi's team has been having a hard time finding the success they had last season. Even though they started strong in west London, they were unable to cause any significant problems for the home team.
Fulham scored their first goal due to a mistake from Adam Webster, who was unable to handle a long pass from Calvin Bassey. This gave Muniz an opportunity to steal the ball and pass it to Wilson, who was open on the right side of the box.
The team for Fulham remained the same as the previous match where they won 2-1 against Manchester United. Unfortunately, Joao Palhinha could not play because he was serving a ban for two games. However, Willian, who was absent in the Old Trafford victory, returned from injury and was placed on the bench.
Brighton changed their starting lineup by replacing seven players from their previous FA Cup match against Wolves. Evan Ferguson and Joel Veltman, who were previously injured, returned to the team alongside Tariq Lamptey, Adam Webster, Julio Enciso, Adam Lallana, and Carlos Baleba. Meanwhile, Jakub Moder, Igor Julio, Pascal Gross, Facundo Buonanotte, Simon Adingra, and Ansu Fati were all dropped to the bench, and Cameron Peupion was not included in the squad.
Although he still had a considerable amount of work to do, the Welsh player managed to score a spectacular goal with a perfectly executed curling shot that left opposing goalkeeper Jason Steele with no chance to stop it. Shortly after, the home team was able to increase their lead thanks to an impressive display of teamwork that allowed them to quickly move the ball from defense to attack.
Harrison Reed and Andreas Pereira were both very active in the game, before passing the ball to Wilson who was in an open area on the right side. Wilson then made a beautiful pass to Muniz, who scored from a short distance away.
During halftime, De Zerbi made some substitutions. Even though Brighton tried their best to find a way to get back into the game, they were unable to do so. In the first minute of added time, Fulham scored another goal after Pascal Gross took too long to make a decision and lost possession of the ball. This mistake allowed Bobby Decordova-Reid to pass to Traore, who scored a precise shot into the bottom corner of the goal.
FPL Stats: Fulham Vs Brighton - Game Analysis
Opta Stats: Can We Face You Every Week?
Fulham has not lost in any of their eight Premier League games against Brighton, winning four and drawing four. This is the most games they have played against any team in the league without ever losing, tied with their record against Norwich. Brighton started the season strong, winning their first two away games in the Premier League, but have since struggled and won only two of their last twelve games on the road, losing seven and drawing three. Harry Wilson, who plays for Fulham, has both scored and assisted a goal for the second time in his 85 Premier League appearances. This has happened twice in his last ten games in the competition, the other being against West Ham last December. Rodrigo Muniz has scored five goals in the Premier League since the start of February, placing him just behind Bukayo Saka, who has six goals. After scoring in 32 consecutive league games from the beginning of March 2023, Brighton has failed to score in five of their last eleven matches, four of which were away games, and three of those in London. Adama Traore, who plays for Fulham, scored his first Premier League goal for the team and his first in the competition in almost a year since he scored Wolves' winning goal against Tottenham last season on March 4th.
"Is Brighton's Slump Temporary Or A Long-Term Decline?"
Sky Sports' Richard Morgan analyzed the situation and concluded that...
Brighton got off to a great start this season by winning five out of their first six Premier League matches, carrying over their impressive momentum from last season where they finished in sixth place.
However, Roberto De Zerbi's team appears to have come to a halt since then, and has fallen to ninth place in the standings after a lackluster performance in the capital city on Saturday. This indicates that the Seasiders have only won five of their past 21 games in the league.
The decline in performance is becoming concerning, and there are several reasons for it. One of the major factors is the long injury list, which can be attributed to the added physical strain of participating in European competitions this season. However, there may be other contributing factors as well, as it is rare for a decline in form to be caused by a single issue.
Their current struggles are taking place on both sides of the field. The defense is allowing an excessive number of goals to be scored against them, a concerning trend that was evident in the two goals that they allowed Fulham to score on Saturday. In addition, the forwards are experiencing an unusual period of difficulty in scoring goals.
To be precise, Brighton had been able to score in 32 successive league games since the beginning of March 2023. However, things have changed recently, as they have failed to score in 5 out of their last 11 games. This has led De Zerbi to express his disappointment in his team's lack of vigor during his post-match evaluation.
Just like any team coached by Jurgen Klopp, the Italian coach also demands maximum effort from his players. Without putting in their all, they would perform way below their potential.
Managerial Perspectives: Insights And Feedback
Fulham manager Marco Silva: Fulham head honcho Marco Silva: The man in charge at Fulham, Marco Silva: Fulham football club's chief Marco Silva: The boss of Fulham's team, Marco Silva:
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The performances were absolutely splendid. Rodrigo [Muniz] is improving with each passing day.
"He's becoming more powerful, making it challenging for the defenders to control him. We understand that giving him opportunities in the penalty area can be incredibly risky due to his potential to score."
We were anticipating Brighton to adopt a strategy of marking our players individually and applying pressure on us. Knowing this, we realized the significance of playing a game that was not influenced by this pressure. Therefore, having a player like Rodrigo to connect our play and establish our offensive approach was crucial.
It's great to see how well he's improving in every aspect of the game. This not only benefits us, but also makes him happy and satisfied. I believe he has the potential to improve even further and reach greater heights.
I feel extremely delighted as we earned the full three points while playing at our home ground, without conceding a single goal."
Getting two consecutive wins in the Premier League is an extremely challenging feat, and we had a strong desire to turn things around following our loss against Aston Villa [2-1].
Our team demonstrated excellent quality, unwavering dedication, and a strong drive to make the right decisions which is definitely a good thing.
I have to admit that the initial 45 minutes were almost flawless. The opposing team failed to develop a single opportunity to score while we, on the other hand, successfully converted our chances into goals.
The next objective is almost an impeccable goal that showcases a great team effort. The method we used from the goalie to the final action, and me serving as the coach, is something that fills me with pride.
Roberto De Zerbi, manager of the Brighton football team: Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi has been in the spotlight recently due to his impressive tactics and leadership skills. He has been praised by fans and experts alike for his ability to guide his team to victory. De Zerbi's commitment to the game and his players has been evident, as he constantly identifies areas where they can improve and works tirelessly to ensure they reach their potential. He is truly a force to be reckoned with in the world of football management.
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I believe that we lacked the necessary enthusiasm during the game. It's important to give your full effort, 100 percent, when competing in the Premier League. Playing at only 50 or 60 percent is not good enough.
In my opinion, we were inadequate and did not perform with the necessary enthusiasm which resulted in our loss. However, this is a common occurrence at times. This season's competition is challenging, and we must strive to surpass today's performance.
Football requires consistent performance in every match and competition. I am dedicating my efforts towards maintaining a positive attitude and mindset in our daily work. It presents a challenging task for the team, including myself and the players. However, we are actively striving to prove our worth and prove that we deserve to compete at this high standard.
The match today can't be defined by statistics like control of the ball, number of shots or opportunities to score. The final outcome makes it seem harder than it actually was. Our performance wasn't great compared to Fulham's decent play. They didn't excel, but it was sufficient to secure victory. We have the potential to perform much better, but unfortunately didn't show it today. However, I have confidence that my team will react positively and come back stronger during our Thursday game.
Fulham will be visiting Wolves on the upcoming Saturday and the match will begin at 3pm.
On Thursday, Brighton is embarking on another European journey as they travel to Rome to confront Roma in the Europa League (starting at 5:45 pm). After that, they are slated to host Nottingham Forest next Sunday (with a 2 pm start time).
