There would be no Carabao Cup revenge for Fulham against Liverpool, the side who “killed” their cup dream this season in January’s semi-final.
Sunday’s 3-1 Premier League defeat was frustrating, but that was where the emotional toil ended. There can be no major recriminations when you lose to a team that can, as Liverpool did on 74 minutes, bring on Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister and Darwin Nunez.
Such a state of mind at this time of year is a luxury for Fulham. There were no inquests or any agonising about the officials that might lead to a woe-is-me social media post on an official club account.
For Fulham, this can be deemed a stress-free period of the season. Victory last week against West Ham United mathematically secured their top-flight status and while there are points targets to chase —”tenth or higher is our aim,” said Calvin Bassey — and each league position is worth around £2million (now $2.48m) according to last year’s numbers, the club’s primary target has been hit.
There is obvious frustration that there is not more on the line when there could have been, but considering how this season began, with the club’s top goalscorer walking out of the door with a Saudi-sized paycheque and goals proving hard to come by — Fulham scored 10 in their opening 12 games — this is quite a good place to be.
“I’m really pleased with the season so far,” Marco Silva said on Friday. “In crucial moments, we should have got more points.
“That’s the image of our season so far — that at the crucial moments to step forward, the consistency was not there. But everybody is searching for consistency. Everyone wants the same. It’s difficult to get.
“Last season was crucial from a business and financial point of view. And of course, the most important thing, we are proud to have put this club where it belongs (in the Premier League).
“This year, people talk about second-season syndrome and all of that. There was noise around us from a really tough summer. Probably no one expected us to be where we are. This club must be recognised as a Premier League club. We have been doing that and, in some moments in a great style, making our fans proud.
“If you ask myself personally, I’m always ambitious, I always want more. But I’m really pleased to say to you right now that we are stronger than seven months ago. Even if we lost some players in the last two seasons.”
Timothy Castagne puts Fulham level against Liverpool (Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)
This is, when you take a step back, quite the achievement. This week, The Athletic outlined how the Premier League, in terms of its strength and competitive balance, is the clear frontrunner in Europe.
Since promotion, Fulham have navigated these potentially choppy waters twice and reside on a more tranquil sea. They have averted the anxiety of the relegation zone. Their place is mathematically secure. They have also avoided the booby trap of financial penalties, a real risk for a club that lacks many means of generating revenue.
For a decade, such late-season tranquillity has felt elusive. Fulham have either been pushing for promotion or battling relegation ever since Shahid Khan’s purchase of the club and the last time the team managed consecutive years of calm were 2011-12 (9th) and 2012-13 (12th).
The chance to take another breather, then, should be welcome. That is not to say the integrity of the Premier League would be questioned when Fulham roll into town. The first 45 minutes against Liverpool underlined that.
Silva’s side matched Liverpool’s intensity for the first half before the visitors upped the ante. At the break, both teams had mustered seven attempts on goal, but for Fulham, the second half would prove their undoing again.
This is a bit of a trend, particularly recently. As well as Sunday, matches against Wolves, Sheffield United, Burnley, and Newcastle have seen the team drop off in the second period at the cost of the result. Around 45 per cent of the goals Fulham have conceded have come between the start of the second half and the 75th minute.
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But here, it was Liverpool’s quality that told as much as anything else. Fulham’s game plan was to try to switch the ball as quickly and efficiently as possible when in possession, targeting the spaces left around and behind the full-backs. They had joy with that in the first half, but in the second, Liverpool’s press was suffocating. It forced mistakes as Fulham began to tire and the win became comfortable. Fulham did not muster a shot in the second half until the 83rd minute.
“The way we conceded the second goal was hard to take,” said Silva. “It was a chance counter, the left side was open, which we planned to explore and did so in the first half at times. But we gave the ball away and they scored with a very good strike. The reaction was not good enough like the first half, it was more difficult to create chances.”
Yet defeat always stings and Silva and his players want more. “I have a group of players that have professionalism and fight for the shirt,” he said. “We have points to fight for, it doesn’t matter what other teams are fighting for.”
But Fulham right now are still in a place where they want to be.
(Top photo: Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)
