EPL

Silva grateful Fulham's dominance was rewarded with late win

By Sports Desk November 04, 2024

Marco Silva believes Fulham claimed a "deserved win" against Brentford, though admits they should have secured the three points much earlier in their 2-1 victory.

It looked like Vitaly Janelt's 24th-minute strike against the run of play was going to wrap up all three points for Brentford, but Harry Wilson proved the Cottagers' hero off the bench, scoring twice in stoppage time to snatch the three points.

Fulham had dominated from the first whistle and had 26 shots, 12 of which were on target, though they struggled to find a way past their opponents' staunch defence until the 92nd minute.

Wilson became just the sixth player to score an equalising and match-winning goal from the 90th minute onwards in the Premier League, while his second goal was Fulham's latest-ever Premier League winner at 96:46.

Silva was delighted with how his team pushed until the final seconds to ensure they came away with a win.

"It was definitely a deserved win. We started on the front foot and dominated all the game. In the first 20 minutes, we had two clear chances to score," Silva told BBC Sport.

"After they scored, we didn't lose the confidence and the trust in ourselves, we kept pushing them back, and we created enough to not be losing at half-time.

"I told the players this is football, it can happen, but we have to keep pushing, working hard and playing our way.

"It was late, it should've been much before, but that's football."

 

Brentford, meanwhile, have now dropped a league-high 14 points from winning positions in the Premier League as they suffered a fifth consecutive away defeat in the competition.

In fact, they are the first side in the competition's history to score the first goal in four consecutive away games and lose all four.

They had defended resolutely until their late lapse in concentration, and even had a chance to win it, only for Bernd Leno's impressive save to keep out Fabio Carvalho in the 95th minute.

Thomas Frank, though, admitted he was not yet ready to take the positives from the performance after the disappointment of their late defeat.

"It was tough. It is emotionally very tough right now," Frank told Sky Sports.

"When you are leading in the 92nd minute, and you lose, it is tough. I don't think we hit our highest level. I think on the day Fulham were better.

"There was a lot of good defending and effort, and I thought that would have given us the win. We could have won it with the chance for Fabio Carvalho and then we lost.

"When we look at the game back, and we are more cool-headed, we will probably be very happy with the defensive standard. I thought there were unbelievable blocks, and recovery runs and all that we did well. On the ball, we didn't do enough."

Related items

  • Manchester United 2-3 Nottingham Forest: Wood hits winner as Amorim's side lose again Manchester United 2-3 Nottingham Forest: Wood hits winner as Amorim's side lose again

    Manchester United suffered back-to-back defeats in the Premier League following a 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford. 

    Chris Wood's 10th league goal of the season in the 54th minute proved to be the winner as Forest climbed to fifth place – only two points behind fourth-placed Manchester City. 

    Nikola Milenkovic put the visitors ahead with only 91 seconds on the clock as he headed in a corner from Elliot Anderson, but Rasmus Hojlund levelled the score for United 16 minutes later, following up after Alejandro Garnacho's initial effort was saved by Matz Sels. 

    Jota Silva and Bruno Fernandes were denied by the woodwork during the first half before Morgan Gibbs-White made it 2-1 to Forest just two minutes after the restart.

    Wood then planted a looping header past Andre Onana to double Forest's lead before United captain Fernandes then pulled one back just past the hour mark.

    Ruben Amorim's side pushed for an equaliser, but Forest kept them at bay to collect the full points. 

    Forest now have 25 points from 15 matches, while United are in 13th place with 19 points.

    Data Debrief: Wood makes Forest history

    Wood's winner was his 25th Premier League goal for Forest and helped him overtake Bryan Roy (24) to become their all-time leading scorer in the competition.

    Since Nuno Espírito Santo's appointment in December 2023, only Erling Haaland (21) has scored more non-penalty goals in the competition than Wood (19 – level with Cole Palmer). 

    Nuno became just the second Forest manager to win both of his first two league games against United, after Fred Earp in the 1909-10 campaign.

    Meanwhile, his counterpart Amorim suffered two straight defeats for only the second time, with the first coming during his stint with former club Sporting in August 2022. 

  • Unai Emery sets Champions League mission as Aston Villa edge Southampton win Unai Emery sets Champions League mission as Aston Villa edge Southampton win

    Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is quickly turning his attention to the UEFA Champions League following their 1-0 Premier League win over Southampton.

    Jhon Duran's first-half goal sealed successive league victories for Emery on the back of three straight top-flight losses against rivals Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham.

    Victory against the Saints is a vital boost for Emery ahead of a crucial few weeks of action before the end of 2024.

    Villa head to RB Leipzig on 10 December, looking to push their case for a spot in the Round of 16, followed by four more league clashes this month.

    The immediate focus for Emery is on Leipzig, with Villa's contrasting European form a cause for concern, despite a brilliant start on their Champions League debut.

    Three straight wins in their first appearance in the competition since it was renamed – including an historic 1-0 home victory over Bayern Munich – put Villa in a strong position, but defeat to Club Brugge and a 0-0 tie with Juventus has stalled their momentum.

    The former Arsenal chief wants this result to act as a platform for his team ahead of their tricky trip to Germany in midweek.

    "Over the 90 minutes we had chances to score more, but sometimes they dominated possession. We managed the game plan to try and find a way to win," as per quotes from BBC Sport.

    "The most important thing is how we're progressively getting more comfortable on the field. We had to use substitutions because we have the Champions League on Tuesday. Three matches in nine days. We have to be ready with the players we have available to try and enjoy the competition.

    "The Champions League is something we have to enjoy, but we also focus on the difficulties in the Premier League, and the challenge against Nottingham Forest is something else. But, we have to try and get to the next round of the Champions League."

    Up next for Villa is that Midlands derby with Forest, followed by a crunch clash at home to Manchester City on 21 December.

    A win for Villa puts them up to fifth in the table, but defeat for Southampton registers as their 12th league loss of the campaign so far, with Russell Martin's team still rooted to the foot of the table.

    Individual mistakes are becoming a theme, and centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis was robbed by Duran for Villa's winner, with Martin left to rue a familiar frustrating story for his team.

    "We gave away a poor goal when it was a good, tight game. We changed shape and then the game became transitional. They were trying to find another goal, so it became very open," he said.

    "We're two v one, and we had a chance to clear the ball, and we don't. It's another mistake. We forced them long, and then we had another two v one, and he [Duran] somehow comes out with the ball and scores."

    Up next for Southampton is a home tie with Tottenham next weekend, followed by an EFL Cup quarter-final at home to Liverpool on December 18.

  • JFF, Reggae Boyz Head Coach wish Antonio speedy recovery after car crash JFF, Reggae Boyz Head Coach wish Antonio speedy recovery after car crash

    The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has issued a statement wishing for the speedy recovery of Reggae Boyz and West Ham United striker Michail Antonio following a motor vehicle accident in Essex on Saturday.

    Since news of the accident, West Ham have confirmed that Antonio is in stable condition at a London Hospital, conscious and communicating under careful supervision.

    JFF President Michael Ricketts and Reggae Boyz Head Coach Steve McClaren have both offered world of encouragement to Antonio in the statement sent out by the federation this afternoon.

    "On behalf of the entire group of players, support staff and technical staff, I would like to wish Michail a speedy recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with him at this time,” McClaren said.

    “On behalf of the entire Jamaica Football Federation family, I would like to wish Michail a safe and speedy recovery. At this point let us keep him in our prayers as he recovers,” Ricketts added.

    Further updates will be issued in due course between West Ham United in collaboration with the Jamaica Football Federation.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.