Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson admitted to feeling ‘humbled’ by the tributes paid by both sets of fans following his side’s 2-2 draw with Fulham.

Aleksandar Mitrovic’s first-half stoppage time spot kick cancelled out Odsonne Edouard’s opener and the Serbian handed the hosts the lead after the break, but Joel Ward’s late equaliser denied Fulham a final home victory of the campaign.

And it seemed warm sentiments toward Hodgson, who managed Fulham from 2007-2010, were as evenly shared as the final result at Craven Cottage.

“That was incredible,” said Hodgson. “I’m humbled by that, really. I can’t express how grateful I am. Both sets of fans treating me so well today and both cheering my name, because I had a wonderful time at both clubs.

“It was a wonderful time here at Fulham and it’s been a wonderful time at Palace, two spells now.

“So it’s really nice to see two sets of fans recognising that and giving you the sort of accolade that you could only dream or hope to get, so it’s going to be a big day in my memory I think, whatever happens, to have come here today, to have gone away with a well-earned point and to have both sets of fans cheering my name as I came off the field.

“That’s something not many managers get and I consider myself honoured and flattered that it’s happening to me.”

Hodgson has just next Saturday’s home clash with Nottingham Forest remaining on his current contract, and once again shut down a query about his next steps amidst swirling speculation he could be kept on.

The 75-year-old simply stated: “There’s no update on my future, other than that it will be a very good future.”

Wilfried Zaha’s future at Selhurst Park also remains a question mark.

The Palace talisman likely played his final match of the season after pulling up with injury last weekend against Bournemouth.

Fans fear it could have also marked his last appearance as an Eagle, with the 30-year-old, like his manager, out of contract at the conclusion of this campaign.

On Saturday Hodgson turned to Edouard in Zaha’s absence, which proved prescient when the Frenchman latched onto Eberechi Eze’s through ball and gave the visitors the lead on 34 minutes.

It was all square at the break, however, after Mitrovic converted in his first game back in Marco Silva’s starting line-up since he was handed an eight-match ban.

Mitrovic headed home his 14th of the season after the break, but Ward was alert to his own rebound from a set piece and bundled home the equaliser on 83 minutes.

Silva’s side, who remain 10th, paraded around the pitch post-match to thank their fans for what their boss believes was a thoroughly satisfying season.

Silva, who acknowledged last season’s Championship winners at times felt “flat” on Saturday, said: “The game was not at our best level and when this happens we have to analyse and prepare for the next one.

“[It was] a very, very good, to not say great, great season. No one expected for us to be where we are right now. Everyone predicted for us to be the first ones to go down, all the things I don’t want to repeat again.

“The season has been brilliant, this group of players has been unbelievable, they work right, they try, they do every single day. They come with the right mindset to learn and to improve.

“This is the main thing. I have to congratulate them again. Of course we didn’t finish yet, next week we can talk a little bit more, but I want to congratulate them for everything they have been doing this season so far.”

Joel Ward’s late equaliser ensured the points were split as Crystal Palace salvaged a 2-2 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Odsonne Edouard opened the scoring for the Eagles in the first half but Aleksandar Mitrovic’s spot kick in stoppage time ensured the sides were level at the break.

The Serbian striker, who had returned to the Cottagers’ starting line-up for the first time since his eight-match ban, then looked to have ignited a comeback win when he fired in his 14th of the season.

The hosts, however, were denied a final home victory of the campaign when Ward levelled from his own rebound to send the Eagles back to Selhurst Park with a point.

Roy Hodgson was without the services of Palace talisman Wilfried Zaha, who is out of contract at the end of this season and might have played his last game as an Eagle after aggravating an injury last time out.

Palace defender Joachim Andersen collided with Mitrovic soon after kick-off, leading to a bloody nose for the Cottager who was deemed fit to continue after swapping for a blank shirt.

Kenny Tete lifted a cross well above the woodwork and his side failed to make anything of two free-kicks, both from dangerous positions, as the first period ticked past its halfway point.

Palace remained in search of their first shot after Joao Palhinha’s well-timed tackle broke up Eberechi Eze’s threatening run, while Issa Diop’s clearance ended a scramble from Jordan Ayew’s cross at the back post.

Though Fulham seemed likelier to break the deadlock it was the visitors who took the lead on 34 minutes.

Eze’s lovely through ball to Edouard, starting in place of the injured Zaha, set up the opener, the Frenchman clipping the underside of the crossbar as he finished.

Palace looked to be taking the 1-0 lead into the break before Tyrick Mitchell was punished for fouling Harry Wilson late in three minutes of added time and the referee pointed to the spot.

Mitrovic stepped up and gave Sam Johnstone no chance as he fired in the equaliser to ensure it was all to play for after the break.

He somehow missed making it two to start the second half, collecting Harrison Reed’s cross at the left post but sent his effort from six yards out wide before Willian saw a shot picked out of the air by the Palace keeper.

The Eagles had not registered a second shot by the time Fulham took the lead through Mitrovic, ensuring the hosts finally made the most of a set piece when he nodded Willian’s free-kick past Johnstone’s right post.

It took a fine save from the Eagles keeper to ensure his side did not fall further behind when he just managed to tip Willian’s curled effort over the bar.

Everything looked to be going Fulham’s way until Palace won a free-kick. Olise’s initial delivery bounced around the box before landing at the feet of Joel Ward.

Leno stopped the initial effort, but the Palace skipper was alert to his own rebound and equalised with a left-footed effort to seal the result.

Captain James Ward-Prowse has “full confidence” Southampton can make a swift return to the Premier League following the pain of relegation.

Saints’ fate was sealed by Saturday’s listless 2-0 defeat to Fulham – a club-record 24th league loss in a single season.

England midfielder Ward-Prowse has been with Southampton since the age of eight but is already being linked with a summer move away from St Mary’s.

The 28-year-old, who insists he is “not thinking too far ahead” regarding his own future, is optimistic Saints will bounce back from surrendering the top-flight status they have held since 2012.

“(I’ve) full confidence, I think the club’s been there and done it,” he told Southampton’s website.

“The squad that we’ve got now is incredibly young and they’ve got a lot to learn.

“They will have learnt a lot from this year and next year I’m sure the club will be doing everything they can to be back in the Premier League.”

Southampton were precariously placed for much of a miserable campaign, having continually occupied the bottom three since early November.

Second-half goals from Fulham pair Carlos Vinicius and Aleksandar Mitrovic condemned Ruben Selles’ side to the drop with two games to spare.

Spaniard Selles was the team’s third manager this term following the sackings of Ralph Hasenhuttl and Nathan Jones.

Ward-Prowse concedes warning signs were present for a long time and admits Saints ultimately went down to the Sky Bet Championship with a whimper.

“It’s something, in all honesty, we’ve been fearing for a little while,” he said.

“Over the last couple of years we’ve not been performing at the level I believe we should be and I think this season’s caught up with us.

“There’s a way to lose games, there’s a way to maybe fail in sport and I think the way we’ve done it this year, that’s the disappointing way.

“I don’t feel we’ve really gone down with a fight and given everything we can.

“I feel for the fans because they don’t deserve to see what we’ve produced this season and that’s the sad thing.”

Victory for Fulham was a club-record 15th in a Premier League season to tighten their grip on a top-half spot.

Winger Harry Wilson, who was involved in each of the Cottagers’ goals on the south coast, hopes to increase the impressive points haul of 51 going into a home game against Crystal Palace and a trip to Manchester United.

“It’s not something I was aware of but it’s something we’ve earned throughout the season,” he said of the record.

“We’ve shown that we can win different ways, so to get 15 wins and the record is great.

“We’ll definitely enjoy them (the final two games) but we also know there’s a lot to play for and we want to make sure we get two wins.”

Substitute Mitrovic returned from his eight-match ban with a bang by heading home seven minutes after replacing fellow goalscorer Vinicius.

The Serbia striker was punished for grabbing referee Chris Kavanagh during his side’s 3-1 FA Cup loss at Old Trafford in March.

Wilson is already eyeing revenge against United on the final weekend following the heated cup exit in which Mitrovic, Willian and manager Marco Silva were sent off.

“We were really good for 70 minutes and we all know what happened,” he said of that game.

“We feel like we kind of owe them one in a way because we felt on that day we maybe should have left with something.”

Marco Silva is happy to welcome back Aleksandar Mitrovic from his eight-match ban this weekend.

Fulham have been without their top goalscorer since he grabbed referee Chris Kavanagh during the FA Cup loss to Manchester United in March.

Mitrovic, who has trained every day with the team since his ban started, has scored 11 times in 21 Premier League games on Fulham’s return to the top division, following his record-breaking haul of 43 in last season’s Championship.

“Mitrovic is back and it’s always good to have him back,” said Silva, whose side travel to bottom-club Southampton on Saturday.

“It’s been tough, I won’t hide it from you. His behaviour has been really good all this period, with support from ourselves. He knew from the first day it was going to be different from a normal ban or normal injury.

“He was always working with the team. It was a tough period for him, of course. It will be good to have him back.

“It was a strong feeling for us, it’s clear it was an exaggerated thing. We admitted as a club that you cannot react in that situation. It’s clear, he did it, he admitted the mistake but the number of games, if you compare with other situations, is completely different. We as a club keep strong and we keep supporting him.”

Silva has rotated who he has used in the central attacking position in the Serbia striker’s absence, with Carlos Vinicius taking on the role during Monday’s 5-3 win against Leicester and scoring his fourth of the season.

Daniel James and Bobby Decordova Reid have also been deployed as strikers as the Cottagers maintained the push to break their record top-flight points tally of 53, which was set by Roy Hodgson’s side in 2009.

Silva was especially impressed with Vinicius’ performance in the rout of Leicester.

“It’s what any manager wants really,” Silva added. “It was the reason why we signed Carlos. Of course with more game time, and making good things, bad things, mistakes, make the players grow of course with some important goals.

“It’s given (him) the confidence he needs. It’s nice to see him performing better and better the last few games.

“It’s important to have a player like Mitro, a player like Vini, and I have to say even we won two games with Daniel James as a striker and Bobby as a striker. Different profile and we were able to win that game against Everton and Leeds at home.

“That shows that everyone knows his role, everyone is fighting for the club and can pop up in certain moments of the season.”

Silva declined to comment on whether negotiations had begun with the club over a new contract, with his current deal expiring at the end of next season.

“Nothing new,” he said. “It’s a moment of the season when everyone is going to talk about managers, about players, about everything. There are rumours around everything.

“When you do a good season of course, it’s a consequence of the performance, the way the team is playing. It’s a normal situation. If there’s something new, we’re going to announce it.”

Leicester slipped further into relegation trouble as they endured a woeful 5-3 defeat away to Fulham to end their three-game unbeaten run and inflict damage on their survival hopes.

Starting the game outside of the bottom three on goal difference, Dean Smith’s side were ripped apart in the first half at Craven Cottage as Willian, Carlos Vinicius and Tom Cairney all took advantage of shambolic defending to bury Leicester before the break.

Cairney got his second and his team’s fourth early in the second half before Willian completed a brace of his own, rifling in a fine solo effort.

Harvey Barnes scored two and James Maddison tapped in a penalty to give visiting supporters momentary cheer, but the result was never in doubt. The prospects of their team remaining a Premier League club look slim on the evidence of a defensive display every bit as bad as the scoreline suggested.

Fulham scored with their first chance of the game, though it was more by luck than design. Dennis Praet fouled Antonee Robinson out near the left touchline, and from the resulting free-kick Willian’s cross evaded everybody inside the box before bouncing up into the top corner past Daniel Iversen.

Leicester, sensing the severity of their predicament, rallied. Maddison crossed low for Barnes arriving inside the box but he failed to make sufficient contact to turn it home under pressure. At the other end, Cairney released Harrison Reed who went toe-to-toe with Caglar Soyuncu before the Leicester defender deflected his effort narrowly wide.

Fulham’s second arrived before the 20-minute mark and started with a Leicester mistake. Boubakary Soumare lost his footing and gave away possession in his own half, allowing Harry Wilson to race away upfield. From his pass nobody in blue went with Vinicius, who had the simple task of striding into the box and rolling it low past the exposed goalkeeper.

Bernd Leno saved well from Jamie Vardy as Leicester threatened immediately to half the arrears, but it was Fulham who were well in control, going close to a third after half an hour when Reed fired straight at Iversen from Willian’s cut-back.

Leicester were hanging on and Fulham came again when Robinson fizzed a cross straight across goal that failed to find a touch, before Vinicius headed inches wide as the ball came back in.

It was a momentary reprieve and by half-time Fulham had three and Leicester looked buried. Reed showed good footwork to control the ball and feed Vinicius, who turned well and found Cairney. The Fulham captain took a touch to come inside Soyuncu before bending his shot smoothly into the bottom corner.

Leicester came out for the second half with some attacking urgency, going close when Barnes struck low towards Leno’s bottom corner which drew a fine fingertip save from the Fulham goalkeeper.

Defensively, they remained as disorganised as before the break. Cairney scored his second and Fulham’s fourth after a powerful run by Kenny Tete down the right. It was a cool finish from a deft first touch after he had been picked out by the full-back.

Barnes thumped in a consolation off the underside of the crossbar just before the hour, and the visitors were offered further encouragement when Leno brought down Vardy inside the box and the referee awarded a penalty. The Leicester striker took the kick himself but the goalkeeper redeemed himself with a two-handed save low to his left.

It extinguished whatever faint hope might briefly had been rekindled for the visitors, and minutes later their woeful defensive organisation was exposed yet again. Willian was barely challenged as he picked up the ball, drifted inside a blasted in Fulham’s fifth.

There was time still for Maddison to succeed where Vardy had failed, knocking his penalty past Leno but drawing barely a cheer from the visiting fans. The same was true when Barnes tapped home from Patson Daka’s pass.

It was a brave stab at recovery but Leicester had lacked courage when it mattered. A two-goal margin did not reflect the extent of Fulham’s dominance.

Fulham boss Marco Silva admits Aleksandar Mitrovic’s eight-game suspension has affected not just his striker but the whole west London club.

The Serbian will miss Monday’s meeting with Leicester as he serves the final game of his lengthy ban, incurred after he grabbed referee Chris Kavanagh during the Cottagers’ FA Cup defeat at Manchester United in March.

Silva said his staff were doing everything they could to ensure Mitrovic was ready to face Southampton on Saturday, but revealed it has not been a straightforward process.

“Of course it’s been a tough period for him, like you expect,” said Silva. “He’s been working hard, it has to be like that with no chance (to play) and the mood in some days is a little bit better than the others.

“He knew one month ago that he is going to be out eight games, it’s really tough for any player.

“If you have an injury, muscular injury or something that we know, ok, it’s part of life.

“But in all this situation, the way it has come for us, the way everything happened as well, the treatment behind all that scenario, it was really tough, not just for Mitro, I have to say for our football club. We felt something that is not good.”

The 28-year-old had scored 11 times in 21 appearances for Silva’s side before his suspension.

He initially received a standard three-match ban, which was later increased by three games for violent conduct towards a match official, with another two added for using language which was “improper, abusive, insulting and threatening”.

A later appeal by the Football Association to increase the suspensions for Mitrovic and Silva, who was banned for two matches for his own involvement in that clash, was later dismissed by an independent appeal board.

Fulham hope Monday’s meeting with relegation-battling Leicester will help them bounce back from consecutive losses to Manchester City and Liverpool before Mitrovic’s return against Saints gives them another boost.

Whether he will be ready start that match is still to be determined.

Silva said: “We are here to support Mitro. It is up to him to keep working hard to where he can be as best as he can be from a physical point of view. It will be good to have him again for the next match.

“He is working hard and we are doing everything we can to keep him in a very good shape. He is doing his maximum as well to be, and of course when he is going to be available it’s up to me to decide if he’s ready to start the game or not.

“But this is another situation for the next match. He’s working hard and we are trying to keep it as best as it can be.”

Mohamed Salah may be the man for consistency but fellow forward Darwin Nunez is the player who injects the element of unpredictability which is part of the evolution of Liverpool’s forward line.

Salah became the first player to score in eight successive home matches for the club with his penalty enough to secure a 1-0 victory over Fulham, making it five wins in a row and 12 goals in his last 16 games.

He was starting alongside Nunez and Luis Diaz, which at the start of the season was the expected first-choice forward line until the latter sustained a serious knee injury which sidelined him for six months.

As a result, the Fulham game was only the fifth time they had all begun a game together, but it was Nunez’s return to the starting line-up for the first time in half-a-dozen games which produced the key moment in the first half.

Having lost control 30 yards from goal, he set about regaining possession and nicked it back off Issa Diop inside the penalty area only for the defender to bring him down.

Manager Jurgen Klopp felt the spell among the substitutes helped reignite the Uruguay international, who was played through the middle as opposed to his more regular position out on the left in his maiden season.

“Darwin was like a racehorse, really motivated, really on fire,” said Klopp, who was particularly pleased with how the 23-year-old adapted to the vital counter-pressing role through the middle which has been performed so well by fellow new signing Cody Gakpo recently.

“Absolutely. I think for us it’s super-important. You could see in the beginning, defending the centre against Fulham is really important because Palhinha is there and that is their connector.

“We were a bit too early out there from Darwin, we tried to fix that, but he was like a racehorse – go, go, go, go for everybody.

“We opened up and that’s where we struggle slightly. We could sort that and apart from that he played a really good game, he was always a proper option for us and we needed that.”

But with only a slender lead to protect it was goalkeeper Alisson Becker who, not for the first time in this up and down season for the team, came up with the key moments to keep his first clean sheet in six matches with a good save from Carlos Vinicius.

The Brazil international has now made 100 saves in the current campaign, the first time he has reached triple figures in a single season since joining Liverpool.

“He is is for sure the most consistent player we have this season,” added Klopp.

“That’s actually not bad news, it’s good news, because if we are not in a great shape and the level of the goalie drops as well then we would have been completely lost. So, that’s fine.”

Fulham manager Marco Silva claims the award of Liverpool’s match-winning penalty was embarrassing as his side slipped to an eighth defeat in 10 games.

Mohamed Salah scored from the spot for the second successive match to secure a 1-0 win after Issa Diop was adjudged to have brought down Darwin Nunez.

Silva was not convinced, however, saying: “The way they scored the goal, I have to say that is embarrassing.

“Today in football to give a penalty like that, after the VAR didn’t take that penalty (away) it is difficult to understand.

“I will not say nothing more because after it will be difficult for me and I don’t want to create more problems for me. It is difficult to understand that penalty,” Silva said.

“When Darwin touch the ball he start to dive himself but after he touched his left leg with Issa.

“They are going to say it is harsh but the referee gave and after the VAR cannot take (away). It is always the same conversation. I didn’t speak with the referee at the end or at half-time. I had some words with the fourth official.

“Issa told me that it is clear not penalty. The referee made a mistake and the VAR is there to take that decision and not allow the penalty to go on. That’s clear for me.”

The victory secured a fifth successive win for Liverpool for the first time since April 2022 and maintained the pressure on fourth-placed Manchester United, whom they trail by four points having played two matches more.

“Really pleased with big parts of the game: first half controlling, creating not finishing situations off,” said manager Jurgen Klopp.

“The penalty I like a lot because it a counter-pressing situation; Darwin is fully in the situation and gets a pen and Mo finishes it off.

“We then don’t close the game early and we have to fight to the end and we needed Ali (Alisson Becker) obviously, the save from (Carlos) Vinicius was sensational and he was happy about the clean sheet more than anyone.

“Five wins in a row is super-difficult. It felt it was ages ago we did it and the more I like it.”

Fulham manager Marco Silva claims the award of Liverpool’s match-winning penalty was embarrassing as his side slipped to an eighth defeat in 10 games.

Mohamed Salah scored from the spot for the second successive match to secure a 1-0 win after Issa Diop was adjudged to have brought down Darwin Nunez.

Silva was not convinced, however, saying: “The way they scored the goal, I have to say that is embarrassing.

“Today in football to give a penalty like that, after the VAR didn’t take that penalty (away) it is difficult to understand.

“I will not say nothing more because after it will be difficult for me and I don’t want to create more problems for me. It is difficult to understand that penalty,” Silva said.

“When Darwin touch the ball he start to dive himself but after he touched his left leg with Issa.

“They are going to say it is harsh but the referee gave and after the VAR cannot take (away). It is always the same conversation. I didn’t speak with the referee at the end or at half-time. I had some words with the fourth official.

“Issa told me that it is clear not penalty. The referee made a mistake and the VAR is there to take that decision and not allow the penalty to go on. That’s clear for me.”

The victory secured a fifth successive win for Liverpool for the first time since April 2022 and maintained the pressure on fourth-placed Manchester United, whom they trail by four points having played two matches more.

“Really pleased with big parts of the game: first half controlling, creating not finishing situations off,” said manager Jurgen Klopp.

“The penalty I like a lot because it a counter-pressing situation; Darwin is fully in the situation and gets a pen and Mo finishes it off.

“We then don’t close the game early and we have to fight to the end and we needed Ali (Alisson Becker) obviously, the save from (Carlos) Vinicius was sensational and he was happy about the clean sheet more than anyone.

“Five wins in a row is super-difficult. It felt it was ages ago we did it and the more I like it.”

Liverpool turned up the pressure on Manchester United with a 1-0 victory over Fulham moving them four points off fourth place as Mohamed Salah’s winner edged him even closer to a Steven Gerrard record.

There was none of the drama or histrionics of Sunday’s 4-3 win over Tottenham in bringing up a fifth successive Premier League victory for the first time since April last year.

Salah’s 39th-minute penalty, his second in successive games after back-to-back misses, took him to 185 goals for the club, one behind Gerrard, while also going fifth on the club’s list of all-time league scorers with 136.

Manager Jurgen Klopp’s behaviour in the technical area was the very model of exemplary following a Football Association misconduct charge for comments about Sunday’s referee Paul Tierney.

He was perhaps making the most of his time on the touchline as he has until Friday to respond to the charges and, having already served a one-match ban this season, the punishment could be much more severe.

Klopp had written in his programme notes that going 3-0 up inside the opening 15 minutes against Tottenham – a match they eventually went on to win with an added-time goal – had given them some problems.

And although they set off looking like they might replicate that with Trent Alexander-Arnold alone having three attempts on goal in the first 10 minutes, they lacked some of the sharpness they had shown at the weekend.

Also, Fulham were also more organised than their fellow Londoners and that kept opportunities down to half-chances at best.

Alexander-Arnold’s advanced position stepping into midfield allowed him to get closer to his opponents’ goal but, unusually for him, he was off target with two attempts with another hit tamely at goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

Salah, whose cross just evaded Darwin Nunez eight yards out, weaved his way past a couple of defenders close to the byline but could not find the target from a narrow angle, while Luis Diaz also had a shot deflected wide.

Liverpool’s mastery of control in the opposition half was almost absolute, regularly winning back possession before Fulham had time to begin the semblance of an attack, but in their own final third it was much less so.

Virgil Van Dijk had to slide in to turn Harry Wilson’s cross behind after the former Liverpool winger had broken into the space behind Kostas Tsimikas, with Carlos Vinicius exploiting Ibrahima Konate’s hesitation to force a good save out of Alisson Becker.

When the breakthrough arrived it was no surprise it came from a counter-press after Nunez had initially lost possession 15 yards outside Fulham’s penalty area.

Tosin Adarabioyo squared a short pass to Issa Diop but the centre-half, back in the team due to Tim Ream’s season-ending injury, dawdled in making his clearance and Nunez was on him like a shot to nick the ball off his toes with the Frenchman’s swing at fresh air catching the forward’s back leg as he went past him.

Referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot and Salah scored an identical penalty to the one against Spurs, blasted straight down the middle.

The second half was much of the same, with Liverpool exerting most of the pressure without really pressing home their advantage.

That made their slender lead vulnerable and Alisson had to save well from Vinicius to prevent the equaliser with 13 minutes remaining to keep their slim Champions League qualification hopes alive.

They are, however, still relying on United to drop points as their arch-rivals have two matches in hand, starting at Brighton on Thursday.

Fulham midfielder Andreas Pereira has joined skipper Tim Ream in being ruled out for the rest of the season.

Sunday’s 2-1 home loss to Manchester City saw Ream forced off in the first half, with the defender having broken his arm, and Pereira then departed the field on a stretcher after the interval following a coming-together with Manuel Akanji.

Cottagers boss Marco Silva said post-match that Ream “is probably not playing any more” for the remainder of the campaign – something he confirmed at a press conference on Monday ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Liverpool, while also revealing the same applied to Pereira.

Silva said: “Tim Ream has broken his arm and will be out until the end of the season, and the situation of Andreas Pereira in terms of this season will be the same, he will play no more.

“We are waiting for more updates from the examinations, an MRI as well, and when we are going to be more sure about everything we are going to give more feedback, but both are not going to play more this season.”

Silva, who described the pair as “two big misses for us”, added: “When one player has broken his arm and one has a serious injury in his ankle, it’s not really a normal scenario, a normal thing. It was really an unlucky afternoon for us when these type of things happen.

“But we have to be ready, now is the moment for us to recover them really well, as fast as we can, and support them in everything we can, because they have been so, so important players for us this season.”

Fulham, whose top-scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic’s eight-match suspension still has two more games to go, have also had Willian absent for their last two outings.

The winger was a late withdrawal from the starting line-up ahead of the 1-0 loss at Aston Villa last Tuesday due to a hamstring issue.

Regarding that injury, Silva said: “Not really serious. We took a decision more as a precaution, to be honest. It was something that came from the last minutes of the Leeds match (the 2-1 win three days earlier). He felt it again during the warm-up and we decided not to take the risk.

“Of course there was a short time between the games, Villa and City. We took care of him, and we made some individual work to see if he would be ready or not.

“The day before the match we tried, he wasn’t feeling at the best level, not really confident, and we decided we wouldn’t start with him.

“Let’s see – we have another session tomorrow and we are going to assess him and after will decide. Probably I believe if not for tomorrow then he will be ready for the next match, against Leicester (at home next Monday).”

Fulham are currently 10th in the Premier League with five more games remaining, while Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, who extended their winning run to four matches with Sunday’s 4-3 victory over Tottenham, are fifth.

Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal are still gunning for the Premier League title as he praised his squad for refusing to settle for Champions League qualification.

Having topped the table for much of the season, Arsenal slipped from the summit following Manchester City’s 2-1 win at Fulham on Sunday afternoon.

City have now won eight successive league games, including a 4-1 humbling of the Gunners last week which put a fifth title in six years in their own hands.

Conversely, Arsenal have taken just three points from their last four fixtures but their form over the course of the campaign has at least guaranteed a return to Champions League football after six seasons away from Europe’s top table.

While City are now favourites, Arteta will be aiming for a return to form when struggling Chelsea visit the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night as he refused to rule Arsenal out of the hunt.

“We have achieved what it was difficult to achieve and we can still achieve the Premier league because there are five games to go and a lot of things are going to happen still,” he said.

“Now the title race is not in our hands anymore. What is in our hands is to try to win the games we have left and the rest is down to City.

“What we have to do is forget about what happened last week, learn from it and move on to the next game with a full tilt at home, with our people, London derby, and put things right.

“I know what we were trying to do, what the objective was what we’ve been doing and we still have the nicest part of the season to play with five games to go. But when I still look at it, this is not over.

“I am incredibly proud and thankful to everyone who has contributed to bringing Champions League football back to this club with five or six games to go, it is something that hasn’t happened in over a decade in this football club.

“So congratulations but also thank you for still being upset and not accepting that Champions League is not enough and we want more because this squad is going to demand to get what we want.”

Victory over Chelsea would take Arsenal back to the top of the table for at least 24 hours having led the pack for 247 nights so far this season.

The Blues, having spent a reported £600million on players in the last two transfer windows, are on a run of eight games without a win and have Frank Lampard as interim boss following the sacking of Graham Potter in April.

Arteta, though, believes Chelsea’s plight is proof a club needs more than just a huge transfer budget to be successful.

“In our model we have very important things,” he said.

“First of all, is to have the right people and I think we have the right people. Then we have the right players who can compete, they can challenge, they can understand their role within the team.

“You need quality, goal threat, physicality, you need a lot of things in this game and that is extremely difficult to find that thin balance with the players.

“Recruiting is just… you have the best intention but then the player has to come here, has to fit in, has to get that chemistry with the manager, the team-mates, the staff, the country. It is not easy at all so credit to everybody who makes those decisions as well.

“They have exceptional talent. If they make that work, they can do anything because they have the players, they have the infrastructure they have the history to do it.”

Julian Alvarez admitted “every game is a final” after Manchester City returned to the Premier League summit for the first time since February with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Fulham.

City were pushed all the way by Marco Silva’s men who were resilient throughout, recovering well after conceding an early penalty which Erling Haaland converted.

Carlos Vinicius levelled the game briefly in the 15th minute, but Alvarez’ stunning strike from distance restored City’s advantage and they held on.

“This is where we wanted to be at the start of the season,” Alvarez told City’s website.

“Everyone’s put in really good work and now we’ve reached the top we need to defend it.

“Every game is a final for us and everyone’s going to pull together to make that final effort.”

The Argentinian, who has had to wait for opportunities in Pep Guardiola’s starting line-up, added: “It was really nice to score here, a really important goal at an important point of the match. Really nice to contribute.

“We knew it would never be easy coming here because of the pitch, because of how good Fulham are as a team. We were very happy to withstand the pressure and hold out.”

Fulham manager Silva was left to ponder his side’s small defensive lapses following a largely impressive performance against a team still in the hunt for the treble.

“We had a clear plan for the game. We wanted to go through the centre of the pitch, with our wingers a little more inside,” Silva said.

“If you try to block certain areas, they will look to expose others. The players, they stuck to their plan and did it well.

“The moment after we equalised the game was probably our best moment in the match.

“We cannot concede the goal in the way we did. A great strike from Alvarez, I know, but the way we build in certain areas we cannot lose the ball in that way and we gave them a chance in their counter-attack.

“In the second half we were really competitive again. We didn’t create many chances, this is true, but we didn’t give many things to them either.”

Julian Alvarez insists "every game is a final" for Manchester City after his stunning winner against Fulham sent Pep Guardiola's side to the Premier League summit.

The Argentina forward secured a narrow 2-1 victory at Craven Cottage, sweeping a wonderful 25-yard strike into the top corner ensuring an eighth-straight league win.

City leapfrogged Arsenal to the top of the table – with a game in hand on the Gunners – while they remain well on course for a potential treble, with a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid and FA Cup final with Manchester United also on the horizon.

And the World Cup winner encouraged his team-mates to keep pushing in pursuit of their aspirations for the campaign.

"It was a very important win for us today," he told BBC Match of the Day. "We need to keep this going.

"We knew it would never be easy coming here because of the pitch, because of how good Fulham are as a team. We were very happy to withstand the pressure and hold out.

"[Top of the table] is where we wanted to be at the start of the season. Everyone's put in really good work, and now we've reached the top, we need to defend it.

"Every game is a final for us and everyone's going to pull together to make that final effort."

Kyle Walker also acknowledged City cannot afford to relent in their charge, but the England defender dismissed treble talk as he is instead focused on the upcoming showdowns with West Ham and Leeds United.

"[Fulham] was always going to be a tough game after the emotions of Wednesday [against Arsenal]," Walker told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"I think the form is so important. It has been good over the recent couple of months, but we have so much football to be played, and this form needs to continue.

"This is what you live for as a footballer – to be competing at the highest level. I'm not even concentrating on the treble. It's just the next game and getting ready to face West Ham. We need to get another three points at the Etihad and then move on to Leeds."

Pep Guardiola saluted the character demonstrated by Manchester City after they went top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win over Fulham.

Julian Alvarez's stunning 25-yard strike proved to be the winner at Craven Cottage, where Carlos Vinicius had earlier cancelled out Erling Haaland's penalty.

Though not at their clinical best, the reigning champions displaced Arsenal at the summit of the table for the first time since February – and still have a game in hand on the Gunners, who they beat 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

Guardiola was pleased with the way his players navigated their way through what developed into a scrappy contest with Marco Silva's side.

"I didn't have any doubt [in my players]," he told BBC's Match of the Day. "The game was so tight until the end, we could not expect anything differently.

"This amount of games is a lot, but we knew that after we beat Arsenal at home, winning these types of games is really important. The players behaved amazingly.

"We responded really well [to Fulham's equaliser]. The momentum was there, we were playing good. It was not easy because they defended really well; inside it was so difficult.

"In general, it was a good performance, knowing the opponent and knowing where we came from."

Guardiola also paid tribute to Haaland, who became the first player since 1931 to score 50 goals during a single season for an English top-flight side.

"Before Winston Churchill was Prime Minister? Wow, sounds a long time ago!" the City boss smiled. "Congratulations to Erling. The best goals to help us achieve what we want still is there."