Fulham’s relegation fears worsen after defeat against Leeds
Fulham slumped to a potentially damaging defeat to an impressive Leeds side at Craven Cottage.
Goals in either half from Patrick Bamford and Raphina, either side of Joachim Andersen’s first Fulham goal, sealed victory for the visitors, who were on top for much of the game.
A win for Scott Parker’s side would have taken them out of the bottom three and put huge pressure on fellow strugglers Brighton and Newcastle, who meet on Saturday.
An action-packed first half saw Leeds denied an early lead when VAR decreed Tyler Roberts was offside by the narrowest of margins when crossed for Luke Ayling to head in after eight minutes.
Marccelo Bielsa’s side, who were promoted with Fulham last season, dominated the opening half an hour, pinning Fulham deep in their own half for long periods.
Rpahina was then denied a goal by an offside flag before Bamford opened the scoring by nipping in front of Tosin Adarabioyo to side-foot home Jack Harrison’s low cross.
But Fulham responded well, forcing two magnificent saves from Illan Meslier who denied Josh Maja and Andre-Frank Anguissa..
The Whites then grabbed the equaliser on 37 minutes when Andersen fired in a Ademola Lookman corner from close range after finding himself unmarked by the Leeds defence.
The second half continued in the same breathless end-to-end fashion and Fulham should have taken the lead when Mario Lemina cut down the right flank and rolled the ball across the box only for Lookman to mess the chance up with a badly-attempted back-heel.
The miss proved to be costly as Leeds immediately went up the field and took the lead.
Kalvin Phillips stole possession from Lemina in the middle of the park and played in Bamford, who in turn rolled the ball to Raphino who applied a clinical finish.
“I am disappointed, I don’t think we deserved anything from out of the game if I am honest,” said Parker.
“The better team won, we struggled at times.
“One thing you don’t want against Leeds with their intensity is to let the game become a bit of a basketball match and with the pressure they put you under you need to make good decisions.
“But we struggled a bit in them moments.”
Fulham: Areola, Aina (Tete 73), Andersen, Adarabioyo, Robinson, Zambo, Reed (Loftus-Cheek 69), Lemina, Ivan Cavaleiro, Maja (Mitrovic 45), Lookman.
Subs not used: Hector, Odoi, Ream, Bryan, Kongolo, Ramirez.
