Fulham super-sub Harry Wilson capped a brilliant week for him and the club by coming on to seal a 2-0 win at injury-hit Crystal Palace, a result which moves the Cottagers up to sixth in the Premier League and level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea – and rings alarm bells for their hosts.
Wilson was Fulham’s hero on Monday Night Football when he struck twice in injury-time to turn it around against local rivals Brentford and, despite being again omitted from the starting XI, he had his say once more, finishing neatly from Alex Iwobi’s super pass through the lines just one minute and six seconds after coming on.
He thought he had made it a double double but his 94th-minute ‘second’ was ruled out by VAR for handball in the build-up.
By the time Wilson arrived on the scene, Palace, down to 10 players following Daichi Kamada’s red card for a high, reckless tackle on Kenny Tete with 14 minutes to play, were already up against it, having fallen behind when Emile Smith Rowe forced an error from Maxence Lacroix and shot Raul Jimenez’s pass beyond Dean Henderson on the stroke of half-time.
Missing a string of first-team regulars to injury, most notably chief creator Eberechi Eze, Palace struggled to contain Fulham throughout. A makeshift central midfield pairing of Marc Guehi and 21-year-old debutant Justin Devenny summed up how thin their squad has become.
Oliver Glasner will be relieved to have the international break to recover some injured players – although with the Eagles just a point above the relegation zone they will have to hit the ground running when the Premier League resumes.
It is a very different feeling in the Fulham camp right now, though. Marco Silva’s visitors had gone winless through October but back-to-back London derby victories inside a week have the Cottagers looking up the table. And with Smith Rowe, Iwobi and Reiss Nelson impressing on the ball, their fans can dream of exciting days ahead.
The trio repeatedly combined through the first 45 to threaten Henderson’s goal before, for the second time in the half, Fulham forced an error from a Palace defender playing out from the back. Smith Rowe – who had carved open a series of chances – was clinical when his team-mates had not been.
The former Arsenal forward is rejuvenated at Fulham. It is a thrill to watch him fit and in full flow after so long on the sidelines at the Emirates and he was celebrating a ‘second’ soon after the break when he converted a sweeping Fulham counter involving Nelson and Iwobi, before the narrowest of offside calls was made by VAR.
It was Fulham rather than Palace galvanised by that decision, with Henderson forced to save brilliantly from Andreas Pereira and tip another effort from the Brazilian over before Nelson fired another good sight at goal off target.
Palace had been inches away just before Smith Rowe’s opener, when former Selhurst favourite Joachim Andersen had to clear Jean-Philippe Mateta’s header off the line, but if fine margins were at play in that moment, across the 90 minutes this was the story of a Fulham side in the ascendency and Palace struggling with shortages in their squad.
Glasner: The players looked mentally tired
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner:
“Today it’s easy to sum up the game: Fulham were the better team. We made too many easy mistakes. When we had situations to come back into the game we didn’t take them. Then the red card, 1-0 down, it’s the first game this season where we deserved to lose the game.
“We don’t look for an excuse. The team that played today could have done better in many situations. We played too slow. If you make so many mistakes you lose more and more of your confidence. When there was the red card the game was over.
“Today we had several players not in their best shape. We did really well last week. The players looked tired but also mentally tired. We have to get back that sharpness and freshness.”
On playing Marc Guehi in midfield: “Marc is one of our most experienced players, to have him next to Justin. Marc did really well against Villa in the last game, he’s intelligent and confident with the ball. But to be honest. It didn’t work.”
Silva: We were dominant from the first minute
Fulham boss Marco Silva:
“It’s clear we deserved the three points. Dominant from the first minute, knowing really well how Palace is going to try to punish us or create problems for us. We controlled well most of the game. The thing that pleased me more was the way we moved the ball.
“Two goals, plus two goals disallowed, we can be proud of the way we played again. We should have scored more goals but overall a great performance. We needed a clean sheet.”
On what Harry Wilson must do to start a game: “He’s doing the right things. He’s doing nothing wrong. He’s competing against very good players. Great competition between them is good for me and the team. It was a great week for him. He was angry at the end of the match because for him it was difficult to take his hand from that position [for the disallowed goal].”
Smith Rowe shining for Fulham
Emile Smith Rowe hit the net twice for Fulham at Palace – although the second was ruled out by VAR
Sky Sports’ Peter Smith:
With injury-hit Crystal Palace forced to field Marc Guehi and debutant Justin Devenny in a makeshift midfield, Emile Smith Rowe must have been licking his lips. The in-form Fulham forward feasted on the space he was able to find in that area of the pitch, picking out the runs of his team-mates beyond a stretched defence, and finding the net himself. The narrowest of offside calls saw him miss out on a second goal.
It was a performance which may have been aided by Palace’s problems but it underlined the fine form rejuvenated Smith Rowe has found at Fulham. Having watched him up close twice in the space of a week, it is clear to see the confidence and verve which propelled him into the spotlight at Arsenal is back. After all his injury problems that is something to be celebrated.
His influence has helped Fulham rise up the Premier League table. But how high can Smith Rowe go? During the past international break there was plenty of debate about who should fill the attacking roles in the team. Going into this international break Smith Rowe again is not in the squad. But if he keeps playing like this the picture could look very different come March. Thomas Tuchel should be paying attention.
Problems piling up for Palace
Fulham’s Joachim Andersen clears the ball off the goal line
Sky Sports’ Peter Smith:
After steps forward against Tottenham, Aston Villa and Wolves, Crystal Palace were suffering again on Saturday, when their bare-bones squad was beaten down by Fulham. Wolves’ win at Southampton has darkened their situation. Just one point and goal difference spares them from a place in the relegation zone.
Their absentee number is extensive – there were two goalkeepers and three teenagers on their bench. At Selhurst, Will Hughes’ suspension added to an injury list including chief creator Eberechi Eze and forward Eddie Nketiah.
Hughes will be back for the trip to Aston Villa after the international break but now Daichi Kamada will be missing after his straight red. Of the players in the treatment room? “It could be that no one comes back,” said boss Oliver Glasner. “Maybe one. Maximum two straight after the international break.”
Even with those mitigating circumstances – how could a makeshift midfield of Marc Guehi and debutant Justin Devenny cope with Fulham’s playmakers? – Glasner was less than impressed with his side’s performance. “We made too many easy mistakes,” he said, listing similar errors against Nottingham Forest and Wolves.
With Palace’s absence problem seemingly not set to lighten substantially over the next two weeks, Glasner has plenty of hard work to do on the training ground to get more out of what he’s got. “The players looked tired but also mentally tired,” he said. They must freshen up quickly for the real fight they look to have on their hands right now…
