Fulham remain in deep trouble after another draw
Fulham failed to make the most of a dominant performance at Craven Cottage, drawing their eighth Premier League match in 11 to remain eight points from safety.
Only two of their 20 shots found the target on the night as they searched for a first win in 12 league games, but the Whites started on the front foot with shots from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Bobby Decordova-Reid blocked in the opening stages.
Shortly afterwards, West Ham’s best chance of the first half came from a dangerous ball in by Aaron Cresswell, who posed a threat down their left flank at times, and a sliding Jarrod Bowen was inches away from converting.
The dynamic Ademola Lookman caused problems throughout when drifting into a more central role between the lines, and he pulled a shot narrowly wide following a promising counter 10 minutes from the break.
Fulham began the second half even more brightly as Decordova-Reid went close, volleying a lofted through-ball from Joachim Andersen over the bar, while Loftus-Cheek should have done better when sent through on goal – but his dinked finish only met the side netting.
Vladimir Coufal almost gave the in-form visitors the lead against the run of play, ghosting in and crashing a header against the top of the bar, before Tosin Adarabioyo, Lookman, and Ivan Cavaleiro failed to find the target with good opportunities.
The home side piled the pressure on as they bossed the last 25 minutes, sending on debutant Josh Maja and Aleksandar Mitrović, who flashed wide.
Tomáš Souček was harshly sent off for a stray arm as the heavy rain came down in stoppage time, but the deadlock could not be broken, leaving the Whites with a mighty survival challenge ahead.
Fulham: Areola, Tete, Andersen, Adarabioyo, Robinson (Maja 79), Reed, Lemina (Mitrović 79), Loftus-Cheek, Decordova-Reid (Zambo Anguissa 83), Lookman, Cavaleiro.
