Sunday Fulham Stuff (10/03/19)...

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Leicester City 3-1 Fulham


Jamie Vardy scored twice in the second half to help Leicester edge past Fulham

Brendan Rodgers secured his first win as Leicester City manager to push Fulham closer to relegation, as Jamie Vardy reached a century of goals for the Foxes.

Rodgers - who started with a defeat at Watford after his switch from Celtic - was afforded a warm reception from fans at the King Power Stadium before kick-off and they were able to celebrate with a victory.

Vardy was the key figure throughout, unselfishly setting up a simple first-half finish for Youri Tielemans before rising to the occasion after substitute Floyd Ayite's scrappy equaliser for the Cottagers after the break.

He raced on to James Maddison's perfect through ball to put Leicester back in front with 12 minutes left, then got his 100th goal for the club when he turned a finish past Sergio Rico after 86 minutes.

Fulham, under the interim management of Scott Parker, had no answer and this is a defeat that leaves them cut adrift from safety and surely on their way back into the Championship after just one season in the top flight.

Vardy shows importance

Vardy's relationship with Claude Puel was always a bone of contention before the Frenchman's sacking - but he has demonstrated his continued importance in the first two games of the Rodgers era.

Vardy and Puel always seemed ill at ease and it looked like the coach never fully trusted the former England striker in his preferred style.

Here, and indeed when he scored in Rodgers' first game at Watford, Vardy has made the sort of impact that means he will figure prominently as the new manager formulates his early plans.

Another stylish performer was Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans, on loan from Monaco, and he is the sort of player Rodgers relishes having.

The 21-year-old ran the show in the first half, not just scoring a relatively simple goal but demonstrating the sort of vision that will make him a hot property whether he stays at Leicester or not.

Rodgers was beaming at the final whistle, delighted to get those first three points on the board.

The Cottagers on the way down

Fulham's fate is surely sealed after this latest defeat - 13 points from safety and 11 behind Cardiff City above them after the Bluebirds' home win over West Ham.

And performances like that produced in the first half on Saturday are why they are where they are - players strolling around without any urgency, seemingly oblivious to the seriousness of their position.

Ayite's equaliser prompted a show of fight, but in the end cheap goals were conceded and relegation is the price they will pay.

This cannot be put at Parker's door. The damage was done in a summer of scattergun recruitment, then poor results under Slavisa Jokanovic and Claudio Ranieri.

It is now merely a question of when their return to the Championship is confirmed - and then it is a question of whether Parker is given the full-time task of rediscovering a club who have lost their way.

Vardy matches Lineker - the stats

    Vardy scored his 100th goal for Leicester in all competitions, becoming the first player to achieve that feat for the Foxes since Gary Lineker.
    Vardy has scored 74 Premier League goals - since the start of the 2014-15 season, only Harry Kane (122), Sergio Aguero (109) and Romelu Lukaku (81) have scored more.
    Since the start of the 2014-15 season, only Riyad Mahrez (27) has assisted more Premier League goals for Leicester than Vardy (24).
    Three of Maddison's past four Premier League assists for Leicester have been provided for Vardy.
    Fulham have lost 14 of their 16 Premier League away matches this season (W0 D2 L14), conceding 40 goals.
    Leicester manager Rodgers has won all seven of his Premier League matches against Fulham, the joint-best 100% record in the competition's history for a manager against one opponent (also Jose Mourinho v Portsmouth and Roberto Mancini v Wigan Athletic).
    The Cottagers have lost their past 18 away top-flight matches when they have conceded the first goal.
    Fulham's Ayite became only the second Togolese player to score a Premier League goal, after Emmanuel Adebayor (97 goals between 2006 and 2016).

Man of the match - Jamie Vardy (Leicester)

Rodgers praises 'world-class' Vardy - what the managers said

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers: "The first goal typifies the unselfishness of Jamie Vardy. He squared the ball to Youri Tielemans when he was on the brink of his 100th goal - that tells you everything about the player he is.

"All of a sudden they got to 1-1 and it gives them a little bit of momentum, but huge credit to the boys [for their reaction]."

On Vardy: "He's showed over the past couple of years that he's a world-class striker. I'm just really glad that he's here. He's a brilliant focal point for the team."

Fulham manager Scott Parker: "Individual errors have cost us the game and have been a massive part of this year.

"It's going to be really, really tough. I sit here with realism. I understand the situation. I'm not blinded by that.

"The message remains that as long as it's mathematically possible we fight - but we know it's going to be really tough."

What's next?

Leicester travel to Burnley on Saturday, 16 March (15:00 GMT), while Fulham welcome Liverpool to Craven Cottage the following day (14:15 GMT).



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47424846

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Caretaker Manager Reaction

Scott Parker felt his side were slightly naïve in the first half but was pleased with the reaction his players showed after the break.

"Obviously, individual errors have cost us the game in the end," said Fulham's Caretaker Manager. 

"The first half wasn't us in the sense of how we wanted it to look.

"In the second half, we improved a lot, got an equaliser and at that point felt in control of the game, and were a threat.

"In this division, if you make big mistakes, the ball normally ends up in the back of your net and that's what happened today.

"We changed things around a little bit, tried to gain some control, tried to get some bodies inside the pitch and built from there, which was very pleasing. The mistakes changed the game and it was difficult from there.

"We've worked all week on the way we play and the style of football we want to play.

"I felt in the first half we were a bit naïve in the way we played against a side under a new manager and a front four who were very aggressive in their pressing. It probably gave them a lift and we never really gave ourselves a foundation to build on.

"That changed in the second half and the real positive was that we seemed a little more grown up.

"We didn't quite understand the moments in the game in the first half, but that was different in the second half.

"I felt like when we got the equaliser, we had good passages of play where their crowd was turning and you felt the momentum was with us. There were some big moments, some key moments – the turnover, Vardy slots home, that was disappointing."

The defeat leaves the Whites thirteen points adrift from seventeenth spot, and while the Whites' Caretaker Manager understands the difficult task at hand, he'll approach each individual game with fight and belief.

"It's going to be really tough," explained Parker.

"I sit here with a real realism. I understand the situation and I'm not blinded, but the message stays the same.

"While, mathematically we're not done, I also understand it's going to be really tough. We'll take it game by game.

"It's been a tough year for the players, for the staff and for everyone, but the players still have a lot to play for.

"Whether we're down or mathematically relegated, every game will be a cup final from now until the end."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2019/march/09/caretaker-manager-reaction-leicester

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Fulham player ratings vs Leicester: Bryan impressive but Odoi & Sessegnon struggle in late loss

Here's how we rated the team at the King Power Stadium

Sergio Rico

Off his line quickly in the opening ten minutes to stop Jamie Vardy getting to the ball, before producing an outstanding save just after the hour mark to stop Harvey Barnes' effort finding the corner. Given no chance with the striker's late double. 6
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Denis Odoi

Given a tough task up against Barnes throughout the game and really struggled at times. Was better after the break but lost out too easy to the winger for the third goal. 4

Tim Ream

Pulled all over defence with Leicester having so much joy in the first half but was more solid after the restart. 5

Havard Nordtveit

Excellent defending to stop Vardy in the first half after some great play by James Maddison and Barnes. Then teed up Floyd Ayite for the equaliser just after the break with a long ball over to the right flank. 6

Joe Bryan

Coped well down the left with Demarai Gray and Ricardo Pereira always looking to bomb on. Produced a great tackle on Vardy to stop the striker doubling the lead after Kevin McDonald was robbed of the ball in the first half. Also put in a fine cross that almost saw Aleksandar Mitrovic put Fulham into an unlikely lead. 7

Kevin McDonald

Really up against it in the first half with Youri Tielemans and Wilfred Ndidi causing all kind of problems in the middle. Had more of the ball after the break with Fulham looking a totally different team. 5

Calum Chambers

Struggled in the first half and was disposed by Ndidi in the middle of the pitch as Vardy teed up Tielemans for the opener. Grew into the match as it wore on. 5

Ryan Babel

Involved early on but quickly faded with Fulham barely having the ball in the first half. Subbed for Jean Michael Seri midway through the second half. 4

Tom Cairney

Not given time in midfield to dictate play with Leicester running riot in the middle in the first half. As like the majority of his teammates, was a lot better after the break. 5

Ryan Sessegnon

Barely involved in the first half and was caught out a number of times with some sloppy passing. Subbed at the break after a poor display. 3

Aleksandar Mitrovic

Worked as hard as ever and pressed well but didn't get much joy at all leading the line with Leicester dominating possession. Only chance on goal was a brilliant header that Kasper Schmeichel tipped wide. 6

Substitutes

Floyd Ayite (Ryan Sessegnon, 46)

Instant impact as he levelled the scores after cutting in from the right. 6

Jean Michael Seri (Ryan Babel, 67)

Introduced midway through the second half but couldn't help his side register a point. 5

Luciano Vietto (Kevin McDonald, 82)

Didn't make an impact. 4



https://www.football.london/fulham-fc/fulham-player-ratings-leicester-15948195

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Scott Parker press conference: Every word on Leicester loss, relegation fight & the second half

Here's what the Fulham caretaker manager had to say after the game against Leicester

Where do you put that result down to?

"I think obviously individual errors have cost us the game in the end, it's probably been a massive part of this year really. First half wasn't us in the sense of how we wanted it to look, second half we improved a lot and got an equaliser. At that point we felt we were in control of the game and felt we were a threat. In this division if you make mistakes they will usually end up in the back of the net. That's what's happened today really."

What did you say to the team at half-time as you were totally different after the break?

"We changed things around a little bit to try and gain some control and get some bodies inside the pitch. First half we lacked that really, but second half it worked for us. We built from there really and got in some dangerous areas and really got a control of the game which was pleasing. Mistakes change the game and it was difficult from there."

What positives can you take from the second half going into next week?

"We've worked all week on the way we plan and style of football we want to try and play. I thought first half we were probably a little bit naive in the way we played against a side which was under a new manager in Brendan and with a front four aggressive in pressing. I felt it was a bit naive in the way we played and probably gave them a lift. We didn't give ourselves a foundation to build on, but second half that changed. I think the real positives second half were that we seemed more grown up really. We played the game in a more mature way and I don't think we did that first half. We didn't quite understand the moments in the game and second half that was different and that was pleasing."

Was Kasper Schmeichel's save from Alesandar Mitrovic's header a turning point?

"I felt when we got the equaliser we had some really good passages of play. I felt their crowd was turning a little bit and you felt the momentum with us. There was some key moments and in the end the key moments are the turnover and Vardy obviously slots it home. That was disappointing."

It's 13 points adrift now after today's results, how do you see it now?

"It's going to be really, really tough. Obviously I'm sitting here with a real realism and I understand the situation and I'm not blinded by that. The message stays the same of course in the back of our heads while it's still not done. I understand it's going to be really tough and we'll take it game-by-game. We've eight games left. It's been a tough year for the players, staff and everyone. The players have a lot to play for. For the fans this year, for next year and for whatever that may be. Whether we are down or relegated mathematically, every game will be a cup final for me until the end."



https://www.football.london/fulham-fc/scott-parker-press-conference-fulham-15948212

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Fulham fans rue individual mistakes and poor signings after late Leicester collapse



Fulham travelled to the King Power Stadium on Saturday in search of their first Premier League away win of the season, yet were defeated 3-1 by Leicester City.

The Whites turned in a turgid first half performance and were deservedly behind at the break. Calum Chambers' terrible giveaway presented Jamie Vardy with a golden opportunity at goal, and the Englishman unselfishly set up Youri Tielemans for Leicester's first goal.

However, the introduction of Floyd Ayite changed the match, with the Togolese international scoring just minutes after coming on at halftime. And for a decent spell, Fulham were on the front foot, pushing the Foxes back and pressing for a winner.

But in classic Fulham fashion, individual mistakes killed off the match. An inexplicable pass from Havard Nordtveit gifted Leicester possession and Vardy made no mistake with his finish to make it 2-1; just minutes later, a defensive lapse from Denis Odoi allowed Leicester to make it 3-1.

Fulham supporters expressed their disappointment with the result but were hardly surprised by the ills that afflicted their relegation-doomed side.



https://tbrfootball.com/fulham-fans-rue-individual-mistakes-and-poor-signings-after-late-leicester-collapse/

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Cottage Talk Full Time: Leicester City vs. Fulham
Take a listen to a podcast that focuses on Fulham Football Club.

In this episode, we shared our "initial reactions" to Fulham's 3-1 loss to Leicester City. Co-host Clare Parish, and her family were at the match, and were driving home from the King Power Stadium during this show. They shared their thoughts on this very disappointing loss for Fulham.


You can also listen to the show by following this link...
https://cottagersconfidential.sbnation.com/2019/3/9/18257711/cottage-talk-full-time-leicester-city-vs-fulham