Sunday Fulham Stuff - 03/09/23...

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Results

Saturday
Sheff Utd	2-2	Everton
Brentford	2-2	Bournemouth
Burnley	2-5	Spurs
Chelsea	0-1	Forest
Man City	5-1	Fulham
		Ream
Brighton	3-1	Newcastle

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Manchester City 5-1 Fulham

Fulham were furious after the video assistant referee decided that Manuel Akanji had not interfered with play in the build up to Nathan Ake's goal

Erling Haaland "was born to score goals" and capped a golden week by completing a second-half hat-trick as Manchester City extended their 100% start to the Premier League season with a win over Fulham.

On Tuesday, Haaland was named PFA Player of the Year. On Thursday, he got a similar award from Uefa.

Man City's assistant manager Juanma Lillo was effusive in his praise of the striker saying it is "no surprise" that he reaches high goal-scoring figures.

"He's great at providing for other players, he gave one assist today, he has this importance to other players, it's not just about scoring goals," said Lillo.

"I'm more impressed by other figures as well, not just if he ends up scoring. I always looked at his intelligence as well as his goal-scoring."

Here, he was back doing what he does best - putting the ball into the net, as he took his tally to six for the campaign.

Haaland had set up the opener for Julian Alvarez - and with the score at 2-1 going into the second half, the favour was returned, as the Argentine sent him charging into the box with a fine first-time pass for City's third.

The Norwegian then kept his nerve to score City's fourth from the penalty spot after Issa Diop had fouled Alvarez.

Haaland had already been named man of the match when he applied the superb first-time finish to Sergio Gomez's cut-back to claim yet another match ball.

Fulham would argue the pivotal moment in the game came just before the break, after Tim Ream had equalised within a minute of Alvarez's opener on the half hour.

Video assistant referee Tony Harrington ruled an offside Manuel Akanji was not interfering with play as Nathan Ake's 10-yard header bounced past him, even though the Swiss made a play for the ball.

The winning machine
Victory means City enter the first international break two points clear of their nearest challengers.

That will be a concern for them all because Pep Guardiola's side have not won their opening four games since his first season in charge - meaning they didn't manage it in any of their five title-winning campaigns under the illustrious former Barcelona coach, who is currently recovering from back surgery.

Asked whether he wants the job after winning twice in Guardiola's absence, Lillo added: "I want Pep here, he was present today, always talking with us, he spoke to us before, during and after the game. I'm delighted the team has continued to win but we need him here and I miss him.

"He's very reflective and he reacts to what happens. We comment on how the game is going, we debate the same way we would if he was here in person and look to find a way together."

For half an hour in this game, they were off the pace.

Without the injured Jack Grealish, £55m new arrival Jeremy Doku was handed his debut. The Belgian produced an encouraging performance, including one excellent touchline burst that nearly set up Phil Foden.

But until Alvarez scored, City were below par and the way they let Ream run unchecked to the far post to equalise hinted at a lack of focus.

Ake's goal changed the complexion of the entire contest, allowing Haaland to take centre stage as he has done so often.

"Erling is a strong character, there was no doubt in our mind he was going to take it [the penalty], he's scored many goals from penalties, had we got another penalty in the previous game we'd have given it to him," said Lillo.

Incredibly, the 23-year-old now has Premier League 51 goal involvements - 42 goals and nine assists - in just 39 appearances. It is the fastest anyone has achieved that, breaking Andy Cole's record by four games.

With six goals in four league games, Haaland has matched his start to last season. Already City and their star striker have laid down a marker it will be difficult to match.

Furious Silva
There will presumably come a point when Fulham boss Silva starts to bite his tongue over the perceived injustices being meted out to his side.

He has not arrived at that stage yet.

When VAR Harrington indicated to referee Michael Oliver that Ake's header should stand, the Fulham manager erupted.

Bernd Leno raced from his goal to tell Oliver he had been impeded by Manuel Akanji, who made a play for the ball as Ake's header went past him. Leno could hardly be claimed as a neutral witness but TV replays did indicate the German's movement in making a save began after the ball went past Akanji.

Silva was still complaining to fourth official Michael Salisbury long after play restarted, which itself took an age as the players continued to argue around the centre circle.

Having now lost 15 successive games to this particular opponent, Fulham were not expected to claim victory.

However, their chances were hardly helped by the absence of star man Joao Palhinha, whose hoped for move to Bayern Munich fell through on Friday afternoon, even though he had travelled to Germany passed his medical, posed in a Bayern shirt and carried out in-house interviews.

Eighteen-year-old academy product Luke Harris will have learned from his extended appearance, although that came at the expense of an injury to captain Tom Cairney, which, all in all, contributed to a day Fulham would probably prefer to forget ever happened.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66625186

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Post-Man City Press Conference

Marco Silva spoke to the media on Saturday following our 5-1 defeat to Manchester City.

Our Head Coach was pleased with his side's first-half display: "The players made the first half really difficult for City and maybe with better decisions on the ball we could have created more problems for them," he said.

"Of course, they scored first but it was an important moment when we equalised so quickly. That was a corner that we had planned and it's really important for the players to put things they learn from training onto the pitch. It gives them more belief.

When asked about the dubious goal given to City before the break, he added: "There are so many better things to talk about, but we are going to have to talk about that decision and I understand why. That moment made a huge impact on the game and I thought our first half was really, really good. The players stuck with the plan and they executed it.

"I told the players at half-time not to lose focus because of decisions we can't control, but of course, that did make a huge impact. Even with all the explanations we received it still doesn't make sense.

"Everyone that has played football and knows about football knows that they should have disallowed that goal. He's in an offside position and it's clear that he is in the line of the ball. That influenced our goalkeeper and it's clear to see."

After an eventful few days for the Club, Marco remains motivated to compete moving forward.

"We have to stick together and try to do as well as we did last season. It's going to be really competitive again and we always want to be a tough side to play against."



https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2023/september/02/Post-Man-City-Press-Conference/

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Fulham players and boss Marco Silva are left seething as Nathan Ake's goal is allowed to stand despite Manuel Akanji standing in an offside position and appearing to interfere with play

    Ake put Man City ahead in on the brink of half-time with a controversial goal
    The defender headed his side into the lead as Akanji was in an offside position
    A VAR check followed but did not overrule the on-the-field decision

Erling Haaland scored a remarkable seventh hat-trick of his extraordinary Manchester City career but even his performance was overshadowed by a hugely controversial decision with the game finely poised at 1-1, when a Nathan Ake goal was allowed to stand despite Manuel Akanji standing well offside in the line of Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

Referee Michael Oliver consulted with his assistant and decided that Akanji wasn't seeking to gain an advantage, despite feinting to get the ball and raising a leg, which seemed to influence Leno. And VAR Tony Harrington decided no error had been made so it didn't merit Oliver watching again pitch-side.

However, prior to the restart, the goal was shown on the giants screens at the Etihad, prompting pandemonium among the Fulham players and a long delay, as the rather obvious offside was seemingly clear to all. They beseeched the referee to look at the pitch-side replay, though without the advice of the VAR, he cannot do so independently.

But Fulham manager Marco Silva was flabbergasted by the decision and said: 'What I can say is that everyone that plays football, that has played football that has some knowledge about football is one hundred per cent sure that you disallow that goal. Of course, anyone would be furious if a goal like that comes against you.

'For the linesman, it can be difficult. Is he in an offside position, can he see or not? But for the VAR it's impossible not to disallow that goal. It's clear he [Akanji] is in the line of the ball. He pulled away from the line of the ball in the direction of the goal and influenced completely the goalkeeper and the goalkeeper's reaction. It's' a clear offside and this is what will concern anyone in football. How that goal was allowed by the VAR?


Nathan Ake put Manchester City ahead in controversial fashion against Fulham
 

Swiss defender Manuel Akanji could be clearly seen in an offside position for the goal
 

Marco Silva and his players were left seething after the goal stood despite a VAR check

'The more times you see that moments, you have to be more sure it is disallowed. The players saw it [on the big screen], the City players saw it as well, everyone that was on the pitch had the same opinion. But the referee didn't say anything because I haven't spoken with him.'

Having played a superb first half, Fulham conceded that goal in he fifth minute of injury time of the first period and then capitulated in the second half. 'I tried at half time to tell the players not to lose focus on things we cannot control but of course it made a huge impact,' said Silva. 'Even all the explanations that we had didn't make sense at all.'



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12473519/Manchester-City-Fulham-Nathan-Ake-goal-controversy.html

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'Disgraceful' VAR blunder allows Man City goal vs Fulham – and even Mike Dean agrees

Another PGMOL apology could well be on the way, this time to Fulham after VAR made a decision which even Mike Dean called out for being wrong


Nathan Ake headed home while Manuel Akanji was stood in an offside position (Image: Viaplay)

 Rival fans were left fuming after a "disgraceful" VAR decision to allow Manchester City's second goal against Fulham.

The reigning Premier League champions looked to be heading into half-time of their Saturday (September 2) afternoon clash level with the Cottagers after Tim Ream had cancelled out Julian Alvarez's opener.

 But Nathan Ake nodded home Phil Foden's corner in the final minute of stoppage time at the end of the opening 45 minutes to restore City's lead.

After a VAR check, the goal stood - despite Ake's defensive colleague Manuel Akanji being stood in an offside position when he'd headed towards goal and moving out of the way so he didn't block it.

Many supporters of other clubs felt Akanji had interfered with the play, with one tweeting: "Akanji in an offside position and blocking Bernd Leno's view, yet Ake's goal is still given. What a disgrace. VAR is a joke."

A second echoed: "Disgraceful. Clear offside by every single letter of the law." And a third fumed: "Another scandalous VAR decision. How WASN'T he interfering in an offside position?"

A fourth also questioned: "How tf is this not disallowed???" While a fifth argued: "This is a scandal! Everyone involved shouldn't referee a Premier League game again!"

"If he doesn't move he stops the ball. Has to be offside," commented a sixth, before a seventh added: "@FA_PGMOL not helping themselves shake the corruption shouts."

"It just can't stand!" 😠

Should Man City's second goal have been disallowed?

Mike Dean is NOT happy! 😤 pic.twitter.com/4GT7W0ewhn

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 2, 2023

Even former referee Mike Dean was convinced the goal shouldn't have stood. Speaking in his new role as officiating analyst on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday, he said: "In my opinion, no, it just can't.

"It just can't stand. He's jumped over the ball, he has to be interfering. The player's there and he's (Leno) hesitated. It just has to be disallowed."



https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/man-city-goal-fulham-var-30848629

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Why was Man City's goal against Fulham allowed to stand?

    Nathan Ake's header put Man City 2-1 up just before half time against Fulham
    Manuel Akanji was stood in an offside position and the goal should have been chalked off
    Marco Silva was incensed with the decision that changed the game just before the break

It always seems to be Marco Silva left with his head in his hands, berating the fourth official over yet another call he thinks has gone against him.

On this occasion, the stage was the Etihad Stadium. Fulham had performed admirably in a first half in which Manchester City had looked well off their usual pace, even managing an equaliser via Tim Ream after falling behind to Julian Alvarez's strike.

Silva thought his side would be heading into the second half level with the reigning champions on their own turf, but that wasn't to be the case. Nathan Ake converted a Phil Foden corner with just seconds of the first half remaining, much to the fury of the Fulham boss who felt the goal should have been ruled out.

Manuel Akanji appeared to be in an offside position, jumping over the ball as it flew beyond Bernd Leno in the Fulham goal. So, why was Ake's goal not chalked off?

Why was Nathan Ake's goal allowed to stand?
Law 11 in the FA handbook says a goal will be adjudged to be offside if a player is "preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent's line of vision".

Akanji was clearly in Leno's eye line and impacts his ability to play the ball and make the save, so why VAR didn't intervene to disallow the goal remains a mystery. It's irrelevant whether or not Akanji attempted to play the ball, merely that he was blocking the goalkeeper's sight of the ball by standing in an offside position.

Speaking on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday, former Premier League referee Mike Dean stated: "He jumped over the ball, it's gone between his legs. It must have put the goalkeeper off. In my opinion, he's a good half a yard offside. He jumps over the ball, so he can't not be interfering with the goalkeeper."

Dean's opinion was shared by Michael Dawson who was watching the game live and has likely been echoed by Silva to the referee at half time. There may well be an apology from Howard Webb in the post.

Reaction to Nathan Ake's goal being allowed to stand against Fulham

High drama here at the Etihad. Alvarez scored his 14th goal in 14 home starts. Tim Ream equalised with a tap in after Ake gave away a careless corner. Then in injury-time Ake scored a header. Akanji offside but adjudged not to have interfered. Fulham fuming... and rightly so.🍿 pic.twitter.com/S1lJSMQck5

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) September 2, 2023

Journalist Ben Jacobs took to Twitter after watching the first half at the Etihad, suggesting Fulham were "fuming...and rightly so" with Ake's late header.

This viewpoint was shared by Sky Sports' Laura Hunter: "Marco Silva is incensed on the touchline. He's got a point. Akanji is clearly in an offside position as Ake's header is diverted goalward, and undoubtedly interferes with Leno's view of the ball, intentionally or not."

It will be interesting to see how Silva, who has already been booked three times for dissent this season, will react after the game, with the Portuguese coach never afraid to speak his mind in post-match interviews.

VAR 1: “Okay, Akanji clearly in the keeper’s eyeline, he even literally jumps over the ball and makes Leno delay the dive. Offside 100%.”

VAR 2: “Who are the opposition?”

VAR 1: “Fulham.”

VAR 2: “Hmm, not worth embarrassing Michael for FULHAM. F*ck it. Goal stands.” pic.twitter.com/sG15oDSWWO

— Paddy Power (@paddypower) September 2, 2023

An Erling Haaland brace eventually took City out of sight against the Cottagers, but the champions certainly got a helping hand from VAR and the officials.



https://www.90min.com/posts/why-man-city-goal-fulham-allowed-to-stand

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Man City: VAR makes howler for Nathan Ake goal
Pep Guardiola and his side were up against Fulham at home in the Premier League...

    Referee Michael Oliver and the VAR team made a huge mistake by failing to spot an obvious offside during the Manchester City game.
    The offside occurred as Nathan Ake scored a goal, with teammate Manuel Akanji clearly in an offside position, interfering with the goalkeeper's ability to make a save.
    Even journalists and former referees were surprised and believed that the goal should have been disallowed.

Referee Michael Oliver and his VAR team made a huge mistake in the most recent Manchester City game as they failed to spot a clear offside when Nathan Ake scored for the home team.

What's the latest on Manchester City and VAR?
Pep Guardiola and his side had made the perfect start to the Premier League season with three wins from their opening three games and so would have been feeling confident going into this weekend's clash against Fulham.

And that confidence was backed up after 31 minutes as Julian Alvarez opened the scoring for City. However, the away team didn't take long to respond as Tim Ream netted an equaliser just two minutes later.

It looked as though the first half was set to end all square but Dutch defender Ake headed in a Phil Foden corner to put Guardiola's side up 2-1. Upon watching replays of the goal, though, it's clear a big mistake was made by the officials.

Indeed, as you can see from the replay below, Ake's teammate Manuel Akanji is clearly standing in an offside position as he jumps over the ball, and even then flicked out a boot at it, thus hindering Bernd Leno as the goalkeeper attempts to make a save.

The Fulham players were understandably enraged and further images of the incident don't do much to help City's case.

What has been said about the Ake goal for Man City?
Even though you can forgive referee Oliver for not spotting the offside immediately, it seems like a pretty obvious call for the VAR team to check and then correct. But somehow the goal stood.

Even journalist Sam Lee, who covers Man City on a regular basis, was surprised the goal wasn't disallowed, taking to Twitter to write: "Goal given! I am very surprised by that, would have been very easy to say Akanji was in the way of Leno imo [in my opinion].

What's more, while speaking on Sky Sports, former referee Mike Dean even stated that the VAR team should have intervened to rule out the goal, saying: "In my opinion no, it just can't stand. He's [Akanji] jumped over the ball, he has to be interfering!"

He added: "It just has to be disallowed."

Craig Dawson then chimed in with: "Bernd Leno takes an extra step because he thinks he thinks Akanji's going to take a touch!"

VAR expert for ESPN, Dale Johnson, explained how the decision was arrived at, but still condemned it, writing on Twitter: "The VAR checked for offside interference by Manuel Akanji as he moved out of the way of the ball before it went in, and decided no impact on Bernd Leno.

"Don't see how you can judge that Akanji's "obvious action" didn't impact. Has to."

In the end, City made sure this one controversial goal wasn't the deciding factor in the game with Erling Haaland netting a second-half hat-trick as the home team won 5-1 in front of their own fans at the Etihad.



https://www.footballfancast.com/man-city-news-var-howler-fulham-nathan-ake-goal/

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Player ratings: Manchester City 5-1 Fulham

Sammy James reviews everyone's performance at the Etihad this afternoon.

For the love of Mike what do we need to do to get a decent referee around here? I'm spitting feathers at how Fulham played the half of their lives only to get cheated a minute before half-time. Clearly Akanji is offside.

I don't know if you can buy common sense over the counter, but if you can, send a bottle down to Stockley Park.

We lost 5-1 but the context is everything. It makes it a bit difficult to rate everyone, but I'll give it a go

Bernd Leno – 6.5
Super Bernd didn't live up to recent highs, but still pulled off some smart saves. Gets a sympathy half-point because of the disgraceful decision to award Ake's goal.

Antonee Robinson – 7.5
Thought Robbo looked great once again on that left hand side. Bombed up and down the left and had some great moments of anticipation.

Tim Ream – 6.5
Fatal mistake to let Haaland score City's third, but otherwise Reeeeam was impressive against the City onslaught. Amazing to see him score again, great anticipation to make that back post run.

Issa Diop – 5.5
It feels harsh to give Issa this scoreline, as he did so much right, but sadly in defence you're often remembered for your mistakes. It was he who lost Haaland for City's first, and then he clumsily challenged Alvarez to give away the penalty.

Kenny Tete – 6
Not Kenny's best match, he frustrated Silva with a couple of wrong decisions in attack. Didn't do anything drastically bad though either. As good as Kenny is I think Castagne will push him hard for that RB slot.

Harrison Reed – 7
Considering that he had to take up his unfavored role of number 6, I think Harrison did well. Broke up City's play well in the first half and really frustrated the City midfield.

Tom Cairney – 6
Went off early, not much to say here. Get better soon skip

Andreas Pereira – 5
On my grainy stream it was sometimes hard to tell the difference between Andreas and Wilson's bleach blonde hair, but from what I could make out Pereira was a little wasteful when we got possession, including one criminal misplaced pass that killed a 3-on-1 at the end of the first half.

Bobby De-Cordova Reid – 6
Grabbed a smart assist with his little flick off of Jimenez's header. Always got a good touch and works hard. Not sure what on earth he said to the ref to get a dissent yellow in the second half, but I rate it.

Harry Wilson – 6.5
Thought Harry was our most dangerous player in the first half and he should have at least got a free-kick when pulled back by the neck in the first half. Really hope he can get a goal soon to back-up his strong start to the campaign.

Raul Jimenez – 7.5 MOTM
Go on Raul. I've not been convinced that he should be our answer to replace Mitro, but I thought he did excellently up front. An incredible header that eventually lead to the equaliser and some exceptional hold up play that is so crucial when facing a side like Manchester City. I think we can all agree we wanted another striker in, but I think if we throw our weight and support behind him, we can get some goals out of Jimenez this year

Subs
Luke Harris – 6
Thought Luke looked great when he first came on, he even got Rodri a yellow with a smart run. His first touch is exquisite. He tired as the game went on, but in fairness, that was proper deep end stuff.

Timothy Castagne, Willian, Adama Traore and Rodrigo Muniz all came on a bit late judge, plus the game was completely gone by then.



https://www.fulhamish.co.uk/post/2023-09-02-player-ratings-manchester-city-5-1-fulham/

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Fulham Fans Call For Tony Khan To Quit As Club's Vice Chairman, Fire Shots At AEW

Tony Khan has found himself under fire from Fulham FC fans after the club suffered another embarrassing Premier League defeat – this time at the hands of reigning treble winners Manchester City.

On September 2nd 2023, Fulham took on Manchester City at the reigning Champions iconic Etihad Stadium with a hat-trick from record breaking goal scorer Erling Haaland helped The Citizens sail to a comfortable 5-1 win.

The disastrous performance from The Cottagers has led to several fans calling for Tony Khan to resign as the club's Vice Chairman citing his focus on other projects, primarily AEW, and a perceived woeful transfer window as the main reasons.

Tony Khan was appointed Fulham Vice Chairman back in February of 2017 with his primary role described as "overseeing the identification, evaluation, recruitment, general maintenance and signing of players for Fulham."

Following the sale of Fulham's talismanic striker Aleksandar Mitrović to Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal for a club record £50,000,000 and attempted sale/negotiated sale of the clubs best player João Palhinha to German giants Bayern Munich (for around £80,000,000) Fulham fans have been frustrated by Khan's "underwhelming" transfer policy with Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey and Timothy Castagne deemed not good enough by fans and the £6,000,000 deal to sign Wolves striker Raul Jiminez questioned due to the striker woeful form in front of goal following his near career ending skull injury back in November 2020.

Following today's defeat fans have taken to Twitter in droves to call for Khan's resignation with one fan referring to AEW as a "poxt wrestling gig" in the process.

    "Can Tony Khan tell us what the f*ck he actually does to be able to put 'DoF/GM/Sporting director' in his bio?

    Neglected the club all summer in favour of his poxy wrestling gig. It ain't a part time job! We've had 10 years of it, enough's enough, time to sell up and get out #FFC" – @fulham__pat

Other fans would continue the trend claiming Khan, who also has roles in NFL club Jacksonville Jaguars, only focuses on AEW and Fulham is being left behind.

This is not the first time Khan has landed himself in hot water with the Fulham faithful, former Fulham FC manager, Scott Parker criticised Khan for his approach to transfer news/business, stating that it was "frustrating" to have the club's Vice Chairman discussing failed transfers, such as the clubs failed £9,000,000 attempt to sign Brentford striker Ivan Toney, on public platforms such as Twitter.

Referencing the incident in an interview in 2021, Parker would state:
    "Of course there are parts of that I can't control. That's why here now, two days before Everton, we're talking about a Twitter post. At times, it's frustrating.

    "I think there is a good intention there. But it's something that I don't feel needs to happen."

Parker had previously criticised Khan's social media behaviour back in 2020 after he took to Twitter once again to apologies following a 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

How much did Shahid Khan pay for Fulham?
Shahid Khan, father to AEW owner Tony Khan, paid an estimated eye-watering £150,000,000 – £200,000,000 for Fulham FC back in July of 2013.

Forbes reports that Khan purchased the club for around $300,000,000 which would come out to around £201,000,000 based on July 2013 exchange rate averages.

Tony Khan will be looking to put the fan controversy to one side as AEW heads towards All Out on Sunday September 3rd.

Dave Meltzer recently reported that ticket sales for All Out show that the company is not currently hot in the United States.

The show is set to be one of AEW's biggest PPV events of the year but headlines are currently dominated by the news that CM Punk & Jack Perry are suspended following a physical altercation backstage at the companies record breaking All In PPV.



https://itrwrestling.com/news/fulham-fans-call-for-tony-khan-to-quit-as-clubs-vice-chairman-fire-shots-at-aew/

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City cruise to victory after VARcial decision
Erling Haaland's hat-trick sent Manchester City into the international break two points clear at the top of the Premier League – but Fulham were furious that their spirited first half display was rendered academic after the match officials allowed Nathan Ake's stoppage time header, which put the hosts 2-1 up, to stand despite Manuel Akanji obstructing Bernd Leno in an offside position.

Marco Silva remonstrated with Michael Oliver as he left the field but managed to avoid a fourth yellow card in as many league games. Antonee Robinson was cautioned – but Fulham's anger was understandable. They had responded to the disappointment of going behind to Julian Alvarez's strike within two minutes with a clever corner routine. Raul Jimenez guided a Andreas Pereira corner goalwards and, although Ederson got something on it, Tim Ream stabbed home the simplest finish of his career from barely a yard out.

The game's pivotal moment arrived when Ake headed a corner into the bottom corner from thirteen yards, but Leno's view and his subsequent drive were obstructed by Akanji's presence in the German goalkeeper's eyeline. It appeared to be a clear-cut example of an attacker interfering with play and there was a long VAR check after Oliver spoke to his assistant – but the goal was given. Silva might have sought to draw attention to the moment when Harry Wilson was dragged back by the neck when he appeared to be through on goal after twenty minutes, but he is clearly trying to avoid more disciplinary problems.

Fulham, who had fought bravely in the first period despite losing Tom Cairney within fifteen minutes to a knee injury, continued to take the game to the treble winners after the interval. Bobby Decordova-Reid drove over from distance after working a nice one-two, but City were able to dominate possession without needing to push numbers forward as they held the lead. An extension of that advantage appeared inevitable and a third goal arrived just before the hour.

Haaland, who had made City's opening goal for Alvarez, galloped onto a clever through ball from the Argentine attacking midfielder to finish clinically past Leno. The visitors still retained their ambition and almost delivered another rapid riposte. Raul Jimenez fashioned a good chance from the byline for teenage midfielder Luke Harris but the bright Welsh midfielder scuffed his finish and Ederson made a simple stop.

Issa Diop did brilliantly to deny Alvarez after the intelligent forward looked the favourite to reach a through ball from Haaland, but then conceded a daft penalty moments later – pushing over Alvarez as he burst into the box. Haaland thumped home the penalty to make it 4-1. Timothy Castagne came off the bench to make his Fulham debut after and the Belgian full back made an immediate impression, providing lofted a lovely ball for Jimenez. The Mexican striker, who worked tirelessly all afternoon, was unlucky not to break his barren scoring run when his curler was saved by the diving Edersen.

Haaland completed his hat-trick in the fifth minute of added time after being set up by substitute Sergio Gomez to put the Whites out of their misery. The visitors were spirited and had a game plan, even in the absence of Joao Palhinha following his deadline day jaunt to Bayern Munich. Silva's side were bright on the break it needed a deft defensive header from Ake to deny Jimenez an aerial opportunity at the back post from Decordova-Reid's deep cross.

Diop made an excellent interception to prevent Haaland from getting a set of goal after a fine run from Phil Foden but Haaland beat the Fulham offside trap from City's next attack and squared for Alvarez to open the scoring. But the Cottagers were level within ninety minutes as Ream crept in unnoticed to level after that clever corner routine – only for a farcical decision to give the champions a helping hand they didn't really need.

MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Ake, Dias, Akanji; Rodri (B. Silva 76), Kovacic (Philipps 84); Doku (Gomez 76), Foden (Bobb 90), Alvarez (Lewis 90); Haaland. Subs (not used): Carson, Gvardiol, Ortega, Nunes.

BOOKED: Rodri, B. Silva.

GOALS: Alvarez (31), Ake (45+5), Haaland (58, pen 70, 90+5).

FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete (Castagne 73), A. Robinson, Diop, Ream; Reed, Cairney (Harris 16); Wilson (Traore 81), Decordova-Reid (Willian 73), Pereira; Jimenez (Muniz 81). Subs (not used): Rodak, Bassey, Francois, Vinicius.

BOOKED: Diop, A. Robinson, Decordova-Reid, Pereira.

GOAL: Ream (33).

REFEREE: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).

ATTENDANCE: 52,899.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2023/09/city-cruise-to-victory-after-varcial-decision/

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More VAR controversy before City cruise to win over Cottagers
Erling Haaland hit another treble for the champions. 

MAN CITY 5 FULHAM 1

Erling Haaland claimed yet another hat-trick as Pep Guardiola's deputy Juanma Lillo signed off his managerial stint with a controversial win at the Etihad.

Standing in for Guardiola, who is recovering from a minor back operation, Lillo saw his defending champions maintain their perfect start to the season, but only after another contentious moment involving VAR.

The controversy came in first-half injury-time from a Phil Foden corner which Nathan Ake headed goalwards powerfully from 12 yards.

The ball flew into the Fulham net but only after Manuel Akanji, standing clearly offside, deftly moved out of the way to avoid touching it. Fulham, not unreasonably, claimed that the City defender had been interfering with play, blocking the view of their keeper.

But a lengthy VAR review did not overturn Michael Oliver's decision with Fulham manager Marco Silva somehow avoiding his fourth booking in as many games this season for his verbal assault on the fourth official.

It was a harsh development for Silva's side who had responded superbly to going behind on the half-hour.

City, well below their creative best without injured Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish, toiled until Mateo Kovacic finally presented Haaland with a chance, threading through a pass which the striker turned inaccurately towards goal.

Fortunately for the hosts, Julian Alvarez was perfectly placed to turn in his errant shot from six yards.

But Fulham responded impressively and were level within two minutes, from an Andreas Pereira corner.

Raul Jimenez's shot into a crowded six-yard box was touched on by Bobby De Cordova-Reid, forcing Ederson into a close-range save which Tim Ream tapped in at the far post.

The late first-half controversy clearly impacted Fulham's confidence at the start of the second and, before the hour was up, they trailed by two goals.

Superb passing between Akanji and Rodri ended with Alvarez flicking through a ball which took a fortunate touch off Ream into the stride of the City number nine who finished with the minimum of fuss, left-footed.

The outcome was settled but, true to type, City were not content to settle for a two-goal margin.

On 70 minutes, a rash foul by Issa Diop on Alvarez after 70 minutes allowed City to extend their lead with VAR not required this time for Oliver to award the penalty.

Haaland, who missed a Premier League spot kick for the first time at Sheffield United last week, made no such mistake this time, firmly ramming home his fifth goal of the season, left-footed.

The Norwegian completed what was now a rout, and his hat-trick, when he swept in from 12 yards in the 95th minute following skilful work and a clever cross from substitute Sergio Gomez.

Manchester City (4-1-4-1): Ederson 6; Walker 6, Dias 6, Akanji 7, Ake 7; Rodri 7 (Silva 75, 6); Doku 6 (Gomez 75, 5), Alvarez 7 (Lewis 89), Kovacic 7 (Phillips 83), Foden 7 (Bob 89); Haaland 8. Substitutes (not used) Ortega, Gvardiol, Nunes, Carson.

Fulham (4-3-3): Leno 6; Tete 5 (Castagne 73, 5), Diop 5, Ream 5, Robinson 7; Pereira 7, Reed 6, De-Cordova-Reid 6 (Willian 73, 5); Wilson 6 (Traore 80), Jimenez 5 (Muniz 80), Cairney (Harris 15, 6). Substitutes (not used) Rodak, Bassey, Vinicius, Francois.

Referee: M Oliver 5



https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/arid-41218048.html

[WhiteJC]

Erling Haaland breaks yet another Premier League record as Manchester City thrash Fulham
Erling Haaland has broken another Premier League record after scoring a hat-trick in Manchester City's 5-1 win over Fulham on Saturday.

Julian Alvarez opened the scoring for Pep Guardiola's side before Tim Ream levelled it up for the west Londoners.

Nathan Ake restored City's lead just before half-time before Haaland popped up with three second-half goals to secure victory at the Etihad.

It means that Haaland has become the fastest player to reach 50 goal involvements in the history of the Premier League.

Haaland has now registered 42 goals and nine assists across 39 top-flight games, surpassing Andrew Cole, who got to 50 goal involvements in 43 matches.

The Norwegian striker has already broken numerous Premier League records since he moved to City last summer from Borussia Dortmund.

Haaland scored more goals in a single Premier League season (36) than any other player in history – in what was his first campaign working under Guardiola last term.

He also became the first Premier League player ever to score hat-tricks in three consecutive home games.

Haaland helped City win a historic treble last season and Guardiola's side have made a flying start to the new 2023-24 campaign.

City sit at the top of the table having won all four of their Premier League matches, scoring 11 goals and conceding just twice.



https://metro.co.uk/2023/09/02/erling-haaland-breaks-another-premier-league-record-in-man-city-win-19436954/?ito=newsnow-feed

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Juanma Lillo gives verdict on controversial Man City goal vs Fulham and offers Jack Grealish update

Manchester City beat Fulham 5-1 in the Premier League at the Etihad but they needed a controversial goal on the stroke of half-time to go in ahead.

Manchester City's stand-in boss Juanma Lillo said Nathan Ake's controversial goal that gave the Blues a half-time lead against Fulham was right to stand and was more of a goal than the one Sheffield United scored against them last week.

Fulham were furious that Ake's header was allowed to stand, given Manuel Akanji was in an offside position and close to making contact with the ball as Bernd Leno started to make his dive.

Referee Michael Oliver consulted his linesman and gave the goal and a VAR check also concluded Akanji wasn't interfering with play. Fulham's players briefly refused to restart the game as they protested to Oliver and boss Marco Silva was furious on the touchline.

City had similar complaints last weekend when they felt Oli McBurnie was interfering with play when Jayden Bogle equalised for Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. Lillo said the explanation given as to why that goal stood also made sense as to why Ake's header was allowed to stand against Fulham.

"It's good it happened because two similar things have happened," he said. "The explanation at Sheffield United we thought was offside, when they gave us the explanation they said it was about being in line with the ball. I believe today our player was less in line than against Sheffield United."

Lillo also gave up an update on Jack Grealish, who missed the game with a minor thigh injury, and Pep Guardiola's stand-in said it was now unlikely he would link up with the England squad.

"It's going to be difficult for Jack to make it, but I'm not a doctor and it will be difficult for me to explain," he said.



https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/man-city-fulham-ake-goal-27641736

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Erling Haaland rubs Marco Silva's nose in Fulham misery after VAR controversy

MANCHESTER CITY 5-1 FULHAM: Cottagers boss Marco Silva was furious that Nathan Ake's goal on the stroke of half-time was not disallowed for offside, before his team fell foul of City's goal machine in the second period

At least Marco Silva kept his mouth shut and saved himself the job of setting up a direct debit with the FA's disciplinary department.

Maybe the Fulham boss has been taking anger management classes after being booked in the first three games of the Premier season. He certainly showed admirable restraint after Nathan Ake had headed Manchester City ahead for the second time in first-half injury-time.

Manuel Akanji was clearly standing offside and in Bernd Leno's eyeline when he allowed Ake's powerful header to go through his legs and give the Fulham keeper no hope of making a save. When VAR official Tony Harrington advised referee Michael Oliver that there was no reason for him to intervene, Silva looked ready to launch another touchline rant.

But the Portuguese regained control of his emotions - and left it to his players to register Fulham's fury by initially refusing to kick-off after seeing a replay of the goal on the Etihad's big screen.

Silva had already picked up yellow cards in the Cottagers' games against Everton, Brentford and Arsenal - and was duly banned from the touchline for the midweek Carabao Cup victory over Spurs.

After also sitting out a three-game ban last season after a meltdown at Old Trafford, one more misdemeanour would have come at a cost. Silva would have feared there was no way back for his team after their efforts in the first 45 minutes were ruined by a nod of Ake's head.

‌He was right.

Erling Haaland rubbed his nose in it with a second-half hat-trick to maintain the champions' perfect start to the new campaign. With Joao Palhinha still travelling back to London after the collapse of his £60million move to Bayern Munich, the visitors then lost skipper Tom Cairney after 15 minutes with a knee injury.

But they managed to hold the champions at arm's length before Mateo Kovacic's pass and Haaland's scuffed shot allowed Julian Alvarez to put a City side being managed by assistant boss Juanma Lillo ahead in the 31st minute.

Pep Guardiola, watching in Barcelona as he recovers from back surgery, would have felt a slight twinge in the lumbar region two minutes later when Tim Ream walked home an equaliser after Bobby De Cordova-Reed's close-range shot had been blocked by Ederson.

 But Fulham couldn't conjure up another response after Ake had met Phil Foden 's left-wing cross with a meaty header - and Haaland duly sent the home fans happy with his seventh treble in a City shirt.

First the Norwegian beat Leno with a measured low finish after Alvarez's flick had been inadvertently nudged into his path by Reem just before the hour.

‌Then he made up for his penalty miss at Sheffield United last week by sending the German keeper the wrong way from the spot 20 minutes from time, after Alvarez had been barged over by Issa Diop. Diop should have been given a second yellow card, but perhaps referee Oliver felt he owed Fulham a favour.

Haaland was in no mood to do the same - and claimed another match-ball with a fierce first-time finish after some brilliant wing play by substitute Sergio Gomes.

The 23-year-old was crowned both UEFA and PFA player of the year during the week.

He now has five Premier League hat-tricks - as many as Andy Cole, Dimitar Berbatov, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie, Ian Wright and Raheem Sterling.




https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/manchester-city-erling-haaland-fulham-30849318

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Marco Silva fumes at referee Michael Oliver after controversial Man City goal stands

Nathan Ake's goal in first-half stoppage time was allowed to stand despite Manuel Akanji being in an offside position, with Fulham boss Marco Silva left furious with referee Michael Oliver

Fulham boss Marco Silva has blasted referee Michael Oliver after he allowed Manchester City's second goal against the Cottagers on Saturday to stand.

Nathan Ake scored four minutes into first-half stoppage time, despite Manuel Akanji clearly influencing play while standing in an offside position. Neither Oliver, his assistants or VAR Tony Harrington saw fit to rule the goal out though, with the Fulham players left furious.

Boss Silva was also fuming with the decision, remonstrating with fourth official Michael Salisbury. The goal did stand though, with City ultimately going on to secure a 5-1 thrashing of the visitors, though Silva was still incensed while conducting his post-match media duties.

"That moment made a huge impact. Everyone that plays football, has some knowledge about football, are 100% sure they have to disallow that. It's impossible to not. It's a clear offside, it concerns us how that goal was not disallowed," he said.

"The more you times you see that moment, the more sure you are to disallow it. Our players saw it, everyone on the pitch at that moment has the same opinion."

Fulham skipper Tim Ream was also left furious and admitted to feeling frustrated that the goal had stood. The defender insisted that the decision had a key impact on the outcome of the game.


Despite Manuel Akanji being in an offside position, this goal was allowed to stand for Manchester City ( Image:Viaplay)

"You never want to lose a game like that. We had a good first half and a very much below average second half. We didn't show the same aggressiveness in the second half and results like that happen," he told Sky Sports.

"They [City] have a lot of quality all over the pitch and coming off the bench, and if you aren't aggressive for 90 minutes plus then things can get out of hand very quickly.

"From our point of view, whenever someone is stood in front of the goal, the ball goes directly at him and he has to jump over the ball it is offside. He was offside to begin with and then when he has to jump over the ball too, it is frustrating when that doesn't get called.

"Whenever goals are scored just before or after half time it is always a critical period in the game, it is a tough moment to concede. You go in at half time with a down feeling instead of going in at 1-1 and feeling like you could get something from the game."

Former Premier League referee Mike Dean was fully behind Silva, insisting the referees had made a huge error of judgement. Dean was adamant that Akanji was interfering with play.

"In my opinion no it just can't stand. He's jumped over the ball, he has to be interfering...because the player is there, he [Leno] is hesitating. It just has to be disallowed," he told Sky Sports.

Former Tottenham star Michael Dawson added: "I completely disagree with the decision. Completely offside, no wonder Marco Silva's angry. Leno takes an extra step because he thinks Akanji is going to take an extra touch."



https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/marco-silva-man-city-goal-30848978

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Erling Haaland gives honest response when asked about Man City's controversial goal, it's refreshing to see


Featured Image Credit: beIN Sports/Premier League

Erling Haaland gave an extremely honest assessment of Manchester City's controversial second goal against Fulham.

Haaland scored a stunning hat-trick as Man City smashed Fulham 5-1 at the Etihad on Saturday to secure three league points.

Julian Alvarez's opened the scoring in the 31st minute as the visitors wasted no time in responding, with Tim Ream levelling just two minutes later.

But the Blues regained their lead when Nathan Ake headed home just before the break. But the goal was clouded by controversy due to Manuel Akanji appearing to be in an offside position.

The decision to allow Ake's goal to stand infuriated Marco Silva, with Haaland sympathising with the Fulham boss following the result.

Asked about the second goal, the Norwegian phenom said: "I think it was offside as well, I feel bad for them. I would be fuming if I was them..."

“I think it was offside as well, I feel bad for them (Fulham) I would be fuming if I was them.”

A very honest reply from @ErlingHaaland on Manchester City’s second goal today.

🎤 @AndyKerrtv #beINPL #MCIFUL 🔵🏡 pic.twitter.com/sskqmUwgpB

— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) September 2, 2023

Haaland's candid and frank assessment of his side's second goal against Fulham justifies Silva's anger towards the controversial decision.

Speaking after his team's crushing defeat, the Portuguese gaffer said: "That moment made a huge impact. Everyone that plays football, has some knowledge about football, are 100% sure they have to disallow that. It's impossible to not.

"It's a clear offside, it concerns us how that goal was not disallowed."

He added: "The more you times you see that moment, the more sure you are to disallow it.

"Our players saw it, everyone on the pitch at that moment has the same opinion..."

It proved to be a turning point in the game as Man City fired three goals without reply in the second-half.

Haaland made it 3-1 in the 58th minute. He then bagged his second goal of the match when he converted a penalty before completing his hat-trick in stoppage time.

Man City remain perfect in the Premier League, having won their opening four games and, at this early stage, their star man is the league's top scorer, with six goals to the player's name.

Fans think VAR should have ruled out Man City's controversial goal against Fulham
Fans think Manchester City's second goal against Fulham should have been DISALLOWED due to Manuel Akanji's involvement.

Man City opened the scoring through Julian Alvarez, with Tim Ream levelling proceedings just two minutes later.

However, the Blues regained the lead just before the break when Nathan Ake headed home.

His header glanced past his fellow defender Akanji before finding the back of the net.

VAR reviewed the goal but allowed Ake's header


Image: Premier League

Needless to say, the decision to allow the goal to stand sent social media wild as fans online made their feelings known.

One X user wrote: "He stands right in front of the GK blocking the view + he makes a jump and a leg move when the ball gets to him, so of course that was offside."

A second wrote: "He's in front of the goalie. It's an Offside."

A third added: "It is as clear as daylight! He moves his leg to catch the ball, which affects Leno's decision! Again referees spoiling the beautiful game!"

A fourth fumed: "Worst call this season. Clear offside, by every metric."

An Arsenal supporter commented: "Clear offside. If it's in the Emirates, would have been offside without VAR check and Arteta would've been booked."



https://www.sportbible.com/football/football-news/man-city/erling-haaland-man-city-logan-paul-ksi-873390-20230831

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Fulham manager Silva left fuming over controversial Ake goal
MANCHESTER, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Fulham manager Marco Silva was left seething over a controversial goal in their 5-1 hammering by Manchester City on Saturday, arguing that it was "a huge mistake" and the turning point of the game.

Nathan Ake's headed goal seconds before halftime - and with the game level at 1-1 - looked like it would be disallowed as it appeared that Manuel Akanji was offside in front of keeper Bernd Leno. Akanji jumped to allow the ball to pass between his legs and into the net.

"That moment made a huge impact. Everyone that plays football, has some knowledge about football, are 100% sure they have to disallow that. It's impossible to not," Silva told reporters. "It's a clear offside, it concerns us how that goal was not disallowed.

"The more you times you see that moment, the more sure you are to disallow it. Our players saw it, everyone on the pitch at that moment has the same opinion."

The Portuguese manager had already picked up yellow cards in games against Everton, Brentford and Arsenal.

Silva waved his arms in disbelief at the officials after VAR ruled it was a goal, while his furious players stomped into the tunnel for the halftime break.

Fulham captain Tim Ream, who was on target for his team, said the goal changed the tempo of the game.

"You never want to lose a game like that," Ream told Sky Sports. "We had a good first half and a very much below average second half. We didn't show the same aggressiveness in the second half and results like that happen."

Erling Haaland, named UEFA Player of the Year earlier in the week, turned the game into a rout with his three second-half goals.

Manchester City's assistant manager Juanma Lillo believed the goal was good, and more definitive than a controversial one Sheffield United scored against them last week.

"It's good it happened because two similar things have happened," Lillo told reporters.

"The explanation at Sheffield United we thought was offside, when they gave us the explanation they said it was about being in line with the ball," added Lillo, who is filling in for Pep Guardiola while he recovers from back surgery.

"I believe today our player was less in line than against Sheffield United."

The VAR ruling, however, was resoundingly panned on social media.

Broadcaster and former Tottenham defender Michael Dawson said: "I completely disagree with the decision. Completely offside, no wonder Marco Silva's angry. Leno takes an extra step because he thinks Akanji is going to take an extra touch."



https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/fulham-manager-silva-left-fuming-over-controversial-ake-goal-2023-09-02/?rpc=401&;

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Manchester City 5-1 Fulham: Analysis
Simon Stone, BBC Sport

He can't, can he?

Erling Haaland's stunning 52-goal introduction to English football last season earned him a series of major individual awards.

Last week alone he pocketed the PFA and UEFA Player of the Year prizes.

It was clearly a phenomenal effort but one few thought he would repeat given how far clear he was of any other recent scoring effort.

Yet, here he is, with six in four Premier League games, just as he was last season. His first hat-trick of the campaign came when he didn't play particularly well.

It does make you wonder where it will end. On this evidence, few will argue against him hitting the half century again.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/c72714z900eo

[WhiteJC]

Silva: 'Huge mistakes by people who have never played football'
Fulham head coach Marco Silva described the decision to allow Nathan Ake's header – despite Manuel Akanji being in an offside position in front of Bernd Leno – as 'a huge mistake made by people who have never played football'.

Silva, who has been highly critical of refereeing standards and the implementation of new directives this season, was furious that the video assistant referee allowed Michael Oliver's awarding of the goal to stand and received backing from Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, whose hat trick made the scoreline much more emphatic in the second half, after the final whistle.

Speaking to the BBC's Conor MacNamara, the Fulham boss said:

Of course the moment for the second City goal made a huge impact in the game, but in terms of the rest, a very good first half from us. The way the players stuck to the plan, the way we played most of the time was good. When we won the ball, with better decisions we could even have created some more problems for them, because we did in some moments.

Unfortunately it was not enough to go in at half time with a good result, which was not our fault. Second half I didn't want a huge, huge, huge mistake from the officials to make an impact on ourselves. It was the first thing I said to my players at half time: I asked my players to react, we cannot control these situations.

"It has happened too often in our games and we end up being punished ourselves. We have been really unlucky since the start of the season in these situations. They feel it because they are human beings. It feels like every week, the same story. A bad decision from the linesman and then someone in the office to not disallow this goal is incredible. It is clear it is a huge mistake from people who have never played football and don't understand about football.

If you are in the [VAR] office, how can you say that player [Ake] doesn't have influence in the goal or the goalkeeper's decision? If the ball goes in the direction of the player, the goalkeeper just dives if the player moves. When the player moves, of course it is a moment before the goalkeeper dives because the people goes in the direction of that player. The ball goes inside the goal. It is clear, clear offside anywhere in the world."



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2023/09/silva-huge-mistakes-by-people-who-have-never-played-football/

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Super Eagles star Alex Iwobi reveals why he joined Fulham
Iwobi joined Fulham on transfer deadline day, and he has high hopes at the club

Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi has stated that he left Everton for Fulham because he likes the project at the club, Soccernet reports.

Iwobi dumped Everton for fellow English Premier League club Fulham in a deal with £22million on deadline day of the transfer window. The versatile 27-year-old midfielder was one of the best players at Everton.

He played a major role in the club's survival push two seasons ago. He was also key last season, playing all 38 of their Premier League games.

However, Everton's future does not look at the moment, as they have lost their opening three games of the Premier League season. Also, their transfer policy has not been encouraging, as they have failed to make a marquee signing this summer.

Iwobi was the shining light in Everton's darkness, but he has now joined the Cottagers. The Nigerian has now revealed that the project at Fulham was what attracted him. He also stated that he is looking forward to walking with coach Marco Silva as they worked together at Everton two years ago.

"Marco Silva spoke to me and told me about the ambitions of the club[Fulham], and where he wants to go," Iwobi told Fulham FC TV.

"I'm on board, and I'm hoping I can bring something to Fulham. He wants to challenge for things and I feel like he gave me the confidence boost. I hope I'm able to repay the faith."

Iwobi is currently nursing a hamstring injury, but he should be back in action for Fulham after the international break.



https://soccernet.ng/2023/09/super-eagles-star-alex-iwobi-reveals-why-he-joined-fulham.html