Fulham end losing streak in league with 3-1 win over Sunderland
A Jimenez double and late Iwobi goal saw Fulham top an action-packed second half at the Stadium of Light
Who said the league season’s over? Fulham ended the losing streak with a strong performance at the Stadium of Light today, a busy second half seeing a Raul Jimenez double and a late Iwobi finish earn a 3-1 win for the team. We enjoyed some of our better football in recent weeks, as a determined Sunderland side were beaten with smart attacking play to strike an advantage, and though the hosts were far from completely demolished our quality made the difference as we completed a double over the newly promoted side. There were some flaws, of course, but the result is what ultimately matters, and Fulham have a good platform heading into a string of home matches as a result.
First Half
Attritional might be the word to describe the opening portion of the game. Sunderland started without Granit Xhaka, arguably the best signing of the season, are missing left-back Reinildo to injury and saw high-profile name in Mukiele trudge off hurt minutes after the teams kicked off. With our well-documented fitness problems, men like Raul, Wilson and Smith Rowe playing in seemingly every game for months, the football was subdued, lacking the flair and bite that might have coloured this game at a different point in the season.
This time of year is often tricky for newly-promoted sides, even ones that have excellent campaigns like Sunderland are enjoying, and you could see the gears struggling to turn in attack for them. The template still worked - the high pressing of pacey attackers like Angulo, Diarra, Brobbey and Ta Bi meant we had to be sharp, disrupting our possession around the back and forcing our centre-backs into important blocks and parries out. Angulo and Bi worked the wings, powering ahead of our full-backs to try and get into the box; without some good blocks from Bassey, Andersen, and Berge when he stepped back to keep the box secure, they might have found Brobbey. Instead, the run of corners they won were wasted, some failing to even clear the first man. The promise was there though, and with Le Fee’s tricks and skills dazing Berge a few times Sunderland were never far from causing us problems.
Yet we enjoyed a touch more of the ball, and with Sunderland’s energy subsiding from the opening minutes tried to work a path to goal. Sessegnon and Kevin enjoyed causing mischief on the left with their combinations and overlaps, troubling Mukiele, then Geertruida once he replaced his teammate, and forcing players across to try and deal with them. We couldn’t get men in the box though - Smith Rowe and a truly lethargic Raul couldn’t find the pace to take them away from their markers, and the powerhouse units of Alderete and Ballard proved impenetrable. This meant many of our opportunities were being snatched at from further afield, as sharp passing sequences conducted by the vision of Iwobi and Smith Rowe’s line-breaking passes were shunted wide by Sunderland and put off target, or wasted by a hopeless long shot. Kevin and Sess, so brilliant in the build-up, both bent shots off target from their set-ups.
However, the most notable events of the first half were the delays. Seven minutes of stoppage time were added to the half: Mukiele went off early of course, but was joined by Ta Bi, who hurt himself amidst the action and had to be replaced by Mundle, and Kevin found himself unable to put weight on his foot after a particularly physical contest with Geertruida on the flanks and limped off for Bobb. It prevented any momentum being generated - perhaps unsurprisingly, the half resulted in a single shot on-target, a tame long shot from Sadiki that fell straight into Leno’s comfortable dive. Whilst Fulham looked the stronger team at times, it felt generous to suggest it was a particularly large margin, and with so many Sunderland bursts along the wing and Raul almost picking up a second yellow-card, there was some evidence to suggest the hosts would have been more deserving of an early opportunity.
Second Half
But 0-0 it finished, and as the teams returned for the second half Fulham would need to turn the screw far tighter to find an advantage at the notoriously difficult Stadium of Light. It would take some doing, particularly as the hosts started the half in ferocious fashion, reigniting their tenacity from the start of the game. It unsettled our defence, and led to a flurry of chances for Sunderland. Roefs, launching a long ball from just outside his own box, sailed over our backline for the sprightly run of Le Fee to collect. A clever touch kept him in the box, but Tete recovered well to get the ball clear, and Geertruida’s follow-up shot was lashed considerably wide.
Sunderland’s tails were up, and the onslaught continued. Brobbey took the fight to our centre-backs, winning the ball deep in our half; with Sunderland swarming our territory a clever combination with the lively Le Fee took him into a channel of space in front of goal, between our centre-backs and away from Berge. He needed to pull the trigger - instead he dithered, eventually turning down the shot and trying to feed the ball wide to Mundle, allowing Tete to once again break apart the move. Then, the golden opportunity - with our team buckling under the attacks, Sessegnon was caught out by a smart pass from Hume, the ball making its way to Geertruida on the right. He fed it through our backline to Mundle, burrowing through the heart of our team and into the box - the move was perfect, but the execution was not, and his shot bent painfully wide.
You can’t miss chances and expect to afloat in the Premier League, and for once Fulham were the side to remind Sunderland of this timeless lesson. As play resumed from the back, Andersen deployed his daggering long-ball over the top along the right, spotting Wilson speeding away from Hume. The winger bounced his cross through a depleted box, reaching Jimenez ahead of Ballard - his lay off was good, and only Hume’s frantic run into the box could stop Iwobi’s low driven effort from reaching the goal. But it only kept parity for a moment - Iwobi’s corner sailed nicely into the area, where a nifty piece of movement from Raul took him away from the preoccupied defenders and let him head the ball down to the right of the goal, where Roefs could only watch the ball sail in.
1-0 to Fulham, and the breakthrough seemed to unnerve the hosts. A rushed kickoff let Fulham take the ball back quickly, and attempt the same avenue to goal - Andersen lifted the ball down the right to Wilson, and this time Hume decided to fell the Welsh wizard. The resulting free kick was swung in by Wilson, and punched clear by Hume… but in the build-up, Brobbey pulled the shirt of Bassey, and a VAR intervention yielded a penalty and a yellow card for the Dutchman’s carelessness. You can’t give our gunslinger a spot-kick and not expect to concede - Raul duly obliged, taking a stuttery run-up before gently placing the ball in the bottom left corner.
We brought on Muniz for the goalscorer shortly afterwards, likely anticipating a response from Sunderland. It was a wise move, as the hosts put the pressure right back onto us. Their coaching lets them stay combative throughout games, and our happiness at finally seizing the lead in a game seemed to placate the team at just the wrong time. With the full-backs advancing deep into our half and Sadiki throwing himself after every loose ball, we found ourselves swamped around our own final third, struggling to work the ball without facing danger. A risky pass backwards from Smith Rowe saw Berge devoured by Diarra, stealing the ball from him - through Mundle and Brobbey, Angulo had space on the right away from Sessegnon and a panicking pair of centre-backs. Again, the shot needed to be better - he lifted it straight and high, meaning Leno had the off-target strike covered if it had dipped lower.
The pressure ramped up even further when Le Bris played his triple substitution - Mayenda, Isidor and the captain Xhaka arrived to add pace and quality to the attacking situation. We might have done well to do the same - yet Silva was content with our two goal lead. Too content - the danger wasn’t being read, and the crowd started getting excited at the floods of red and white brushing against our box. With passes accumulating, defenders stepping deep into the attack and Fulham barely able to reach the halfway line, alarm bells should have been ringing for the team. A speculative long ball should have been dealt with by Sess, but instead found Ballard, storming into action. He bullied his way through the team, the left-back standing off tamely and Bobb being manoeuvred out of contention, and as he turned Sess to enter the box, a clumsy pair of hands clasped his sides and gave him the contact he needed. Penalty: Le Fee blasted his strike beyond Leno’s leftward dive, and suddenly the win was in doubt.
Just as they had done, we lost the ball quickly from kick off, and saw Mayenda blast down the right wing. Dragging Bassey across to deal with him, his skill saw him get around him and cross the ball into Isidor, who fortunately put an awkward effort over the bar. But the chance - and the goal it came just after - seemed to shake Fulham into action. We tried to put some of our own passes together, Bobb using his guile to work Muniz into a great chasm of space in front of the backline. The Brazilian might have had a chance to score - instead he moved the ball right to Wilson, allowing Sunderland to get bodies back and annul the chance.
The game, for so long played in a stupor, had a chaotic frenzy to it now. Xhaka continued to showcase his talents, moving the ball around with vision and energy - a run from the tireless Sadiki, worked through Le Fee, found the Switzerland international on the edge of the box - a clever dink looped over Andersen but travelled just too far for Isidor, and allowed Leno to get onto it. At the other end, a corner won through Tete’s industriousness produced a half-chance in the box, as Bassey headed a clearance back into danger that Berge flicked over the bar. On the transition, Sunderland won a free-kick, and Xhaka’s deep delivery the game swung the other way - pass after pass around the left, as Sadiki and Hume strived to find the right angle to pump the ball into a packed area.
Yet in their haste to find an equaliser, they left themselves open to the age-old tactic to win a game of football - the counter-attack. As Berge headed clear Sadiki’s cross, Wilson sprung into action to take it away from danger. Realising how few Sunderland players he had around him, he burst into life, carrying it from our half into their final third, cleverly keeping the chasing pack away from him. He veered left, away from Hume in pursuit, and deceptively slipped the ball through Le Fee to find Iwobi surging ahead of him. Only a single touch was needed by our No. 17, as a stupendous low finish guided the ball out of Roef’s reach and nestled into the far corner of the goal.
3-1, and Fulham had their comfort zone back - just in time for the substitutes. The three ‘C’s, Castagne, Cairney and Cuenca all arrived to fortify Fulham for the final stage of the game. It actually gave us a few chances, too - Sunderland, exhausted by the physical exertion and the emotional toll of the late setback after chasing parity for so long, were unable to close the gaps their energy had sealed off for so long, and we moved the ball around nicely as the game wound down. Aerial duels won at the half-way line by Muniz and Bobb let Sessegnon bend a ball around the team to Wilson, coming across to the left to try and grab a fourth - Ballard’s block denied him his own goal. Meanwhile, the defensive focus at the back was sharp, good blocks by Castagne and Wilson keeping shots from Hume and Mundle on the left from reaching Leno, and a terrific block from Bassey in the six-yard box denying Mayenda a close-range goal; a shame for Sunderland, as the move included a fabulous no-look pass on the turn from Xhaka and a good piece of aerial work from Ballard to head the pass down. As Wilson took one last effort a goal, the ball sailing into Roef’s arms, the referee called time - we returned to winning ways at last.
“Trust the process”
For as frustrating as the first half was, with no shots on target and losing Kevin to injury, the blueprint of the success was there. Be it Iwobi architecting play from deep, Smith Rowe finding pockets of space around the attack or wingers drilling balls into the middle, the moves we made were causing Sunderland problems. It was the finishing that needed improvement, and perhaps a touch of sharpness around the pitch to make these killer sequences more frequently. In the second half, being on the backfoot forced us to do this; our counter-attacks really brought the best out of the team, quick balls into Wilson giving him the chance to stretch the defence, and his quality producing dangerous moments for each goal. What a season he’s enjoying - that new contract seems to grow in value with each game he plays.
Raul takes the flowers for opening the scoring - he might be jaded by his run in the team, and his temper almost threatened to spoil the afternoon, but his finishing can never be questioned, with a classic header to break the deadlock and yet another penalty added to his unbeaten Premier League tally. Muniz, as great as he is, can still learn something from the ruthlessness Raul has in the box - his moments may be fleeting, but Jimenez delivers in those tight moments. Behind him, there were good performances from Smith Rowe around the pitch, Bobb grew into his role after a slightly disjointed start off the bench and Iwobi continued to play the smoothest tunes behind them all.
Defensively we were decent - whilst the pressure of playing a very physical Sunderland was certainly felt, for the most part we fought them off well, and kept the critical chances from flooding in. Berge struggled a little in transition, but his conduct in the box was terrific, as was the work of Calvin Bassey, performing closer to his imperious best with a powerful display. Andersen had a good game too, and won the majority of his duels around the box. Tete was the strongest, a full 90 minutes fighting Angulo and Mundle away from his flank - what a powerhouse he is for us. Sessegnon has enjoyed better games, on the other hand, and had a tricky time dealing with the versatile and forward-thinking Geertruida looming on his flank. The team did their job to enough of a degree to keep Sunderland out, and at times looked free-flowing as well, never something to sniff at in the top flight.
The best newly-promoted side?
That should really be emphasised - Sunderland are one of the strongest sides to come up from the Championship in recent memory. Considering this is their first attempt back in the top flight with this set of players, they are doing spectacularly (compare it to our “jubilant” return to Premier League life in 2018-19, for instance). The game today can’t be judged out of context - they are missing some of the key men they brought in this season, and had to change their plans twice in the first half when they picked up injuries. The energy is largely good, they have a strong team of leaders and fighters, and when Le Fee and Xhaka combine they can produce some beautiful pieces of play across their games. 3-1 is not a devastating failure given these facts, and shouldn’t derail their season.
That said, there are some clear weaknesses that Fulham benefitted from today. The finishing was clearly underwhelming - Mundle had the most glaring opportunity, putting an effort wide right before we opened the scoring, but the chance conversion was insipid throughout the game, and betrayed the hard work they put in to get into the situations. It’s easy to type out “score more chances” but the fundamental point is true - Jimenez had the calm and cool to strike Fulham into a two-goal lead within a few moments, whilst Sunderland’s energy dissipated because they couldn’t find clarity in the critical moments. Time is on their forwards’ side, but frustration will compound if they don’t find the net from the chances they create here.
This inexperience is the problem, really - they switched off when we put them under pressure from our counter-attacks, conceding goals from set-piece situations they could have avoided with more aptitude and allowing Fulham to bend the game their way. Perhaps with Xhaka on the team stay sharper through the trickier passages of the game and don’t switch off so blatantly? It’s tricky to say, because he was present when Wilson ran from one end to the other and assisted Iwobi’s goal, but it’s clear the team improve with him on the pitch and you’d imagine they’ll benefit from his experience transmitting to his teammates.
Still, Fulham did the work to win the game, and now sit in 10th place in the league table. I hesitate to write the words “late push for Europe” because our form has been so inconsistent, but if we keep picking up results we will never fall completely out of contention in this congested and unpredictable league season. One will do well to remember the abundance of places England won for European competition last year, too - the squad need to keep this in the centre of their thoughts and build on this strong performance going forward.