Marco Silva convinced that Fulham should be getting better results against the Premier League’s top teams
Fulham (0) 0 v Manchester United (0) 1
Premier League
Matchweek 23
Talking Points
By Kaz Mochlinski at Craven Cottage
Marco Silva described Manchester United as being “very lucky” to have beaten Fulham, with “a really lucky goal”, producing an outcome which was “cruel” and “really unfair” on his side, on a disappointing Sunday night at Craven Cottage.
“It’s a tough one to take. We were better than them, and the dominant team” insisted Fulham’s head coach. “I think it was cruel for us, tonight, the result. They had their first shot [on target] on 78 minutes.
“It was a match where, in the first half, I think clearly we were the team that had more control. We started on the front foot. Our pressure was really good first half, and we created enough chances probably to score a goal during the first half.
“We didn’t give anything for them. I don’t remember one dangerous moment from them during all the first half. That is true. We pressed well. We reacted well. We didn’t give the chances for some counter-attack where we know that they are a strong side, with [Alejandro] Garnacho, and Bruno [Fernandes] trying to provide.
“I think we really controlled that situation, and the ball arrived always in a dangerous area from ourselves. And the way we make the ball to arrive with Emile [Smith Rowe] between the lines most of the time was good.
“We did break well their first pressure when they tried [to close us down]. But the reality is that we didn’t score. The second half was more balanced. Of course they just had that one shot. But even our second half was not so good like the first one. It was balanced again.
“Unfortunately for us, with a really lucky goal, a deflection, they scored. And after was the reaction from ourselves. They came really with a low block, they had 10 players around the box, they changed some players.
“Even so, we had a great chance with [Joachim] Andersen from a corner, the header. And two good chances from Rodrigo [Muniz] to equalise the game at least.
“I think the result is really unfair for us, it is not what we deserve from the game, but football is like that. The margins always play a big part in it, and they are very lucky to win tonight.”
Manchester United’s latest opening goals this season have both been against Fulham, at home in August in the 87th minute, and now away in January in the 78th minute, to complete a league double of two 1-0 wins.
On this occasion it extended the Cottagers’ current winless home run in the Premier League to five games, since a 3-1 success over Brighton & Hove Albion at the start of December.
Nevertheless, Silva wanted to focus more on the positive aspects of Fulham’s consistent competitiveness against the top teams, even if he believes that they should be winning more of these encounters now.
“Our pressure was good, our reaction was good. The second half was a bit more balanced Our pressure wasn’t so intense like the first half. A really 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.
“So there is frustration really with the result. Overall, in the game we deserved more and should have taken more from the game. One shot on target from Man United - a lucky deflection.
“We were the team that dominated more. We had two or three good moments to score, but I don’t remember one dangerous moment from Man United.”
The lack of finishing firepower was Silva’s biggest concern. For all of Raúl Jiménez’s undoubted improvement this season, this was not an enjoyable evening for him, up against Harry Maguire.
Fulham will be especially annoyed at not scoring this time, as Manchester United had only kept one clean sheet in their previous 16 matches in all competitions, in a 4-0 home win over Everton in the league in December.
They had arrived at Craven Cottage having lost six of their last nine Premier League games, in total accruing just 11 points from 11 league outings under the club’s latest head coach, Ruben Amorim.
Considering those circumstances, Silva’s analysis was unsparing of his players’ shortcomings in forward positions: “Of course, it wasn’t the best night from us in our attacking line at all.
“I think we had some very good moments that we should have taken more from that moments, and created probably even more clear chances that moment. Definitely, in terms of our attack, it was not the best night at all…
“We did things so, so well until the ball arrived there. You have to punish them, and the reality is that most of the times throughout the first half we had that moments and we didn’t punish them.”
Plus he admitted: “The level we are playing at we have to be clinical - if we don’t, it is going to be difficult to win. It was not a good night for our attacking players. Let’s hope in the next game it will be better.”
For Silva’s fellow Portuguese coach, Amorim, it was an early present at one day prior to his birthday, although he joked about ageing rapidly in his new job: “It’s not 40... I’m 50. After 2 months at Manchester United, it’s 50.”
Amorim has immense charisma and an impressive presence up close. He is also strong-willed enough to possibly have a chance of succeeding where every other manager has failed in following Sir Alex Ferguson.
He illustrated it by again leaving out Marcus Rashford, who has now not been involved in a Manchester United matchday squad for six weeks and 11 matches, with Amorim saying that he would prefer to have his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach as a substitute instead.
“It’s always the same reason. The reason is the training, the way I see what a footballer should do in training, in life. It’s every day, every detail. If things don’t change, I will not change.
“It’s the same situation for every player. If you do the maximum, if you do the right things, we can use every player. And you can see it today on the bench, we miss a little bit, like pace to go to change the game, to move some pieces.
“But I prefer like that. I will put [Jorge] Vital before I put a player that don’t give the maximum every day. So, I will not change in that department.”
How Fulham would love to acquire a striker like Rashford, even with all his apparent flaws, but his wages as well as his entitled expectations make it unequivocally impossible to contemplate a temporary loan move, let alone something more substantial.
In view of the attacking limitations on both sides, it was actually perhaps a surprise that Fulham and Manchester United did not end up scoreless. Even if that needed a deflected goal, which was only very tenuously an attempt on target.
