Player ratings: Leicester City 0-1 Fulham

George Rossiter is back to review a hard-fought Fulham win, making it three consecutive victories in the Premier League since the World Cup.

On a night when Michael Smith made history at the Alexandra Palace, Fulham were thankful for a perfect nine of their own, one Aleksandar Mitrovic. Mitro’s first-half effort was the difference in a difficult game, which saw a barrage of Leicester attacks deep into the game. The result leave’s Marco Silva’s side in seventh, above Brentford and Chelsea.

Bernd Leno

While Fulham had the better of the first half, Leno was still called upon occasionally, most notably as Harvey Barnes ran through on goal and failed to lob the German on the edge of the area. The second half however, was incredibly impressive, with our colossal keeper making a number of world class saves to keep Fulham ahead. This was undoubtedly Leno’s best performance to date in a Fulham shirt. 9.5/10 – Man of the match

Kenny Tete

Harvey Barnes looked like Leicester’s most dangerous wide option for most of the game, which made Tete’s performance all the more impressive. Barnes rarely got any joy out wide and often felt himself shading away from his left hand side to have any success on the ball. Another strong effort from the Dutchman to contribute towards a huge clean sheet. 7.5/10

Tosin

Many were struggling to understand why Issa Diop was dropped, and while it may still seem slightly unwarranted, the decision from Silva paid off. Tosin’s non-nonsense approach to defending was vital, both in the first half when Leicester looked to utilize Vardy in the channels, and in the second-half when Fulham were faced with cross after cross after cross. No doubt about it, Tosin is still in the manager’s plans. 8/10

Tim Ream

Another faultless display from Captain America. While Tosin is the taller of the centre-back partnership, it was Ream that saw off the majority of the crosses. The way he defends so calmly, confidently and brilliantly under pressure such as from the Leicester attack tonight is nothing but admirable. 8/10

Antonee Robinson

When Leicester switched to a 4-4-2 and subbed  on Albrighton, Robinson was guilty of affording the veteran winger too much space to create chances from out wide, but that threat was gradually nullified as the game played out. What was remarkable was Jedi’s ability to sprint up and down his flank even deep into the second half after his World Cup exploits. No Qatar hangovers here. 7/10

Joao Palhinha

In honesty, not one of Palhinha’s strongest performances. But Joao has plenty of credit in the bank. Tielemans was frequently afforded too much space in the areas the Portuguese midfielder would expect to find himself in, and Palhinha struggled to contain the Belgian’s creativity, resulting in a stonewall yellow card after a number of fouls. 6/10

Harrison Reed

Leicester’s early switch to a midfield two benefited Reed greatly, giving him more freedom to play further up the pitch, which maybe slightly contributed to the struggles of his midfield partner Palhinha. His link-up play down the right-hand side was consistently good, with slick passing patterns on show with a mix of De-Cordova Reid, Wilson and Tete. 7/10

Andreas Pereira

A quiet game from the Brazilian playmaker, who struggled to stamp his authority on the game, which was subsequently recognised by Silva who replaced him just before the hour mark. Whether it be the man-marking of Ndidi or something else, Andreas failed to create much for Fulham going forward despite his best efforts. 6/10

Bobby De Cordova-Reid

De Cordova-Reid was important in linking up the play in the first half and helped form a more defensive shape to the side when Fulham had to go on the back foot as the game went on. Perhaps bringing off that versatility could’ve harmed Fulham on another day, but alas today it did not and a lung-busting 66 minutes from Bobby was a good contribution to a positive result. 6.5/10

Willian

Some fans may have been worried about Willian’s pace and ability to run when he came to the club in his mid-thirties. But why run when you can glide? The class of touch and movement simply has not disappeared from Willian’s prime, you just do not lose that natural ability. He was wonderful at the King Power, providing a fantastic assist for the winning goal. 8.5/10

Aleksandar Mitrovic

11 goals for the season and the Super Serb does not look like missing. Even with an early knock to his ankle, Mitro ran for absolutely everything down to the very last minute. The composure he showed to take down Willian’s cross and finish past Danny Ward was exemplary. Your defence continues to be terrified. 8/10

Substitutes

Tom Cairney (59’ for Andreas Pereira)

The skipper set the tone for the gritty second half that was to come, instantly bringing Perez down to prevent a counter attack, and continued to calm down the play as Fulham saw out the victory. 7/10

Harry Wilson (66’ for Bobby De Cordova-Reid)

The match fitness is there but the sharpness may not quite be, as was shown with a huge missed chance late in the game that would have seen the victory complete comfortably. 6/10

Issa Diop (82’ for Willian)

Diop could have felt hard done by not starting the game, but for the final 10-15 minutes he helped hugely in protecting Fulham’s lead. 6.5/10