Player Ratings: Fulham 1-0 Sunderland
The feedback is in from a hugely deserved Fulham victory at Craven Cottage...
Fulham earned a well deserved victory and clean sheet on their return to Premier League football after an eventful international break, putting an end to a bad run of Premier League form. On another day where this side is confident and in better form, it may have been four of five zip. Alas, any win to nil with a good performance is enough to put smiles on faces. Keeping this level of performance going forward now is the key.
Bernd Leno
Thought Leno was quite conflicting with how he dealt with the poor weather at the Cottage. Any crosses coming his way he dealt with quite convincingly, but thought hit distribution was poor and his pass completion rate concurs, though of course that matters not a jot compared to the joys of a rare clean sheet. Made two decent saves from Bertrand Traore in the first half, the first from a defensive mix-up arguably his highlight of a fairly comfortable afternoon. 6.5/10
Kenny Tete
Relatively quiet, to be fair. Mostly because Sunderland rarely got the ball to Enzo Le Fee in any sort of space in the first half. When they did, Tete was caught napping from the second half kick-off when a long Roefs pass found Le Fee, who nearly bent a shot inside the post. He also struggled to stop Le Fee creating a chance late on when a Xhaka pass went beyond the Dutchman. Rarely got into many attacking positions either, with the focus on counter attacking and getting Sessegnon further forward on the other wing. 5.5/10
Joachim Andersen
Thought that was his best performance of the season by a mile. I’ve critiqued Joa for showing a lack of leadership, especially when wearing the armband, but in tricky conditions today he organised the defence well. Everything that came into the box he got rid of, that’s what my eyes told me anyway. Then I looked at the stats. His mammoth 13 clearances was seven more than anyone else on the pitch. He was superb in the air against the threat of Isidor too, and even proved a threat at the other end, with one decent effort from a corner and a side-footed strike from distance both ending up wide. 8/10
Calvin Bassey
Despite heartbreak with Nigeria over the break, it feels like those two weeks may have refocused Bassey quite nicely. While not quite as adventurous (bar one shanked shot late on), he looked confident and comfortable in possession, something you can’t relate to him in recent weeks. Thought while he also got the better of Isidor with his strength on the ground, there was a couple of times that he got caught with a pass in behind him in the first half, the type of balls that weren’t evading Andersen. Still, a better performance. 6.5/10
Ryan Sessegnon
Don’t get me wrong, Sess will eventually need a rest and his attacking input can be better utilised further forward, but there has to be conversation about whether or not Robinson comes straight back into the side when he returns. The way he was asked to play almost as a false nine in possession was executed brilliantly and made space for so many around him to make superb runs beyond the Sunderland centre-backs. Put in some fairly decent crosses and nearly won the game himself with a cross-come-shot in the 80th minute. 7.5/10
Sander Berge
Continues to be more of a positive influence in the final third, which was even more impressive today with no Lukic next to him to hold the fort if the Norweigan ventured forward. Had a lovely cross to the back post for Kevin nearly produce a superb assist early in the first half, before a tame effort from range meant he himself forced a save from Roefs. Always looked to push the ball forward in possession, which is all we’ve been asking for. 7.5/10
Alex Iwobi
Had an early effort go over the bar within the first ten minutes but, to be honest, there was very little in the final third beyond that. He was more important in the middle of the pitch, surely winning more second balls than anyone else out there. From deep, not only did he make as many tackles as any Fulham player, but he also completed a number of balls over the top that set us on the counter. He’s so versatile and skilled it’s a joke. 7/10
Harry Wilson
You felt that after scoring an impressive hat-trick on the day he captained Wales for the first time, Wilson would be as sharp as anyone in front of goal. Ha. Well, it wasn’t for a lack of effort. His in-swinging corners in the wind caused issues and nearly had him scoring directly from one. One strike in the first half narrowly missed the left post after he’d isolated his man one on one. Another was blocked well on the hour mark before Reinlido made a further intervention to deny a good effort after a Lampard-esque timed run into the box. Just not his day in front of goal, but a constant threat on the counter and around the box. 7/10
Josh King
Really had to grow into the game because early on Sunderland put a lot of energy into man-marking him (and who could blame them, he’s scoring goals for England U21s and has the most minutes of any 18 year old in the top five European leagues). His first real contribution was a gorgeous backheel to set up a Wilson chance on the half hour mark. Had a diving header go just wide but in general thought his output in the final third was lacking, especially on the counter where too often he failed to release the ball early enough, which probably contributed to why he came off fairly early in the second half. 6/10
Kevin
This is a man that, once he scores one and gets that confidence flowing through him, will absolutely fly. Was clearly our biggest threat on the counter and went through on goal three times and nowhere near enough came of it. The first produced an easy enough save for Roefs, whereas the next two resulted in us losing the ball before we’d even had a touch in the box. His effort from Berge’s back post cross was the closest he came but even that wasn’t a strike with conviction. Can’t fault the effort or the ability to get into good positions and make good runs, just needs better conviction. 6.5/10
Raul Jimenez
Had a couple of early half chances that saw Roefs tested or the ball fly over but then things went quiet. After fitness struggles and a testing international break on his body, you can’t blame the evident tiring. But yet again, it’s credit to the man that he continued to press high, often alone, make runs, often without service. But then late on, when finally he received a decent cross, he did what all superb strikers do and beat his defender to the ball and get anything on it to give Fulham the win they so richly deserved. 7/10
Substitutes
Samuel Chukwueze
As effective a cameo performance as you could wish to see. He constantly had defenders backtracking as he ran and ran and ran at them from the left side of the attack after he replaced a tiring Kevin. Made an instant impact at the other end, intercepting a dangerous cross within seconds of coming on. Linked with Sess well throughout and every cross he put in looked dangerous. Ultimately, the cross that landed him the assist was the pick of the bunch, a tantalizing finessed ball that could only end up in the net, whether it be another own goal or the eventual outcome from the boot of Raul. Won the game for us with his efforts late on. 9/10 – man of the match
Emile Smith Rowe
ESR did what he’s done for most of this season and made a positive impact off the bench. Okay it wasn’t as explosive as Chukwueze but Smith Rowe frequently pushed us forward in search of a goal and got into all sorts of good positions around the box. Had one half volley scream wide of the post on 75 minutes and made a few good runs around Sunderland’s right side of defence that caused issues. 7/10
Harrison Reed (on his 200th Fulham appearance, which deserves celebrating) and Timothy Castagne came on in the final stages for Iwobi/Wilson, so can’t be fairly assessed.