Marco Silva admitted Fulham only had themselves to blame after surrendering a first-half lead to lose 2–1 against Everton at Craven Cottage, while also suggesting the decisive goal should not have stood.
The Fulham head coach was left frustrated as his side once again failed to convert dominance into points, allowing Everton to complete a league double over the west London club.
Silva questions Everton winner but refuses excuses
Fulham went ahead in the 18th minute through a Vitalii Mykolenko own goal and had multiple chances to put the game out of reach before half-time. Those missed opportunities proved costly.
Everton equalised on 75 minutes through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, before the winner arrived eight minutes later from a corner. Bernd Leno punched the ball into his own net under pressure from 6ft 6in defender Jake O’Brien, who was positioned directly in front of him.
Silva felt the Everton defender was interfering with his goalkeeper but chose not to focus on officiating decisions.
“He was interfering, but to be honest, I am so disappointed and we should be disappointed with ourselves much more than to talk about the referee,” Silva said.
“Our season, in terms of these decisions, I don’t need to make any comments on it, it’s always the same story.”
Fulham regret first-half wastefulness
Despite his frustration over the winner, Silva was clear that Fulham’s failure to capitalise earlier in the match was the decisive factor.
“It was a very good first half from us. I think we should have scored four more goals and killed the game and decided it in the first half,” he explained.
“We had a number of clear chances, but at this level you have to be clinical.”
The Fulham boss admitted his side lost control after the break as Everton grew into the contest.
“In the second half, we stopped doing the right things. We expected a reaction from a side like Everton, but we lost control of the game and we have to blame ourselves for the way we lost.”
Defensive fragility costs Fulham again
Silva highlighted Fulham’s inability to manage difficult periods as a recurring issue.
“When the second half doesn’t go your way, you have to be strong, defending your box and winning duels,” he said.
“At the level we are playing, the goals we conceded, we were too soft.”
The defeat marked Everton’s 11th away win since David Moyes returned to the club — a record Silva was unable to match during his own spell with the Merseyside side.
Key Insights
- Fulham led early but failed to extend their advantage
- Silva believed Jake O’Brien interfered with Bernd Leno
- Everton scored twice late to complete the turnaround
- Fulham lost control after half-time
- Lack of clinical finishing proved decisive
What’s Next
Fulham will look to respond quickly as they aim to stay in the European race, with Silva demanding a full 90-minute performance rather than flashes of control. Everton, meanwhile, continue to build momentum under Moyes as their strong away form shows no sign of slowing.
Should Fulham feel hard done by over Everton’s winner — or was Silva right that the real failure came earlier in the match?
0 Comments
First read message
Leave a comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *