Parker bemoans ‘sloppy goals’ after Fulham defeat

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Scott Parker admitted that Fulham were left feeling frustrated after losing to Premier League leaders Manchester City at Craven Cottage.

The Whites lost 3-0 after goals by John Stones, Gabriel Jesus and a penalty by Sergio Aguero, in what proved to be a costly spell at the start of the second half.


Fulham have lost five of their past seven Premier League games at Craven Cottage and remain 18th in the table as they continue to battle relegation with nine games remaining.

Head coach Parker did, however, insist his side displayed courage against Pep Guardiola’s men who are now 17 points clear at the summit.

“The team are frustrated, especially as they didn’t work too hard for their goals in that 15-minute spell in the second half,” said Parker.

“I thought first half we took the game to Man City and we were very solid out of possession and were brave in how we set up, but we lost sloppy goals into the second half.

“A set play which was poor and two individual errors, then the game is over. That is the residing factor from tonight, but we showed courage and left a mark on Man City for a while, but there’s no doubt the goals we lost were poor goals. That was disappointing and frustrating.

“Everyone individually didn’t let that game pass them by, but they’ve just fallen a little bit short at certain moments.”

He added: “Tosin has been exceptional here but we have young players who will make mistakes.

“It’s all about how they recover from errors and he was desperate to make up for that. He will learn quick, and we need to grow as a team.”

Parker also confirmed that Bobby Decordova-Reid, who sustained a hamstring injury, is doubtful for the Whites’ next game, at home to Leeds United on Friday.

Nevertheless, he pointed to the recent run of good form, including last week’s impressive win at Liverpool, which can still help Fulham avoid the drop.

“It has been the key to put ourselves in the position we are,” Parker explained.

“It’s why we are looking at a team what was well organised. We have been resilient when we’ve made mistakes and that won’t change. We will work out where we went wrong, keep moving and keep improving.”