QPR v Fulham player ratings
Fulham came from behind to beat QPR 2-1 at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium. Here’s how we rated each player in the west London derby.
QPR
Liam Kelly: 6
Beaten at his near post by Harry Arter’s equaliser, the QPR keeper redeemed himself with a diving save from Anthony Knockaert after the break. He was left hopelessly exposed for Cyrus Christie to score the winner.
Todd Kane: 5
While Kane’s attributes normally make him a natural wing-back, those weren’t in evidence here, with late challenges and wayward passing. His best piece of work actually came in defence, denying Ivan Cavaleiro on the hour mark.
Osman Kakay: 7
You wouldn’t have known this was Kakay’s first appearance in a QPR shirt for 18 months. He set the tone with an early crunching tackle on Knockaert and his assurance on the ball was one of the night’s positives for the home side.
Geoff Cameron: 6
Imperious in his aerial battles with Bobby Cordova-Reid, the American performed well in central defence but sometimes landed himself in trouble when attempting to play out from the back.
Yoann Barbet: 6
A mixed bag for the QPR captain, who made some vital interceptions and was always looking to set up the counter-attack, but also made some mistakes that gifted opportunities to the visitors.
Ryan Manning: 7
Manning revels in his extra freedom at wing-back. His cross for Jordan Hugill to open the scoring was just one of several dangerous balls he put into the box and he was unlucky not to level with a late header that crashed against the bar.
Dominic Ball: 6
There’s no faulting Ball’s work-rate. He tackled with enthusiasm and helped to keep Fulham under pressure early on, but lost ground as Tom Cairney and co gradually took control in the middle of the park.
Luke Amos: 6
An improved performance by Amos, but still plenty of scope to improve further. He misdirected too many passes and squandered one of Rangers’ best chances when he blazed over late in the first half.
Ebere Eze: 7
Looking dangerous during Rangers’ early domination as he fed off Hugill’s knockdowns, Eze came to the fore again in the chase for a late equaliser – although his free-kicks were somewhat below par.
Bright Osayi-Samuel: 7
Operating in a more central role than usual, Osayi-Samuel’s pace caused Fulham problems all night and he was involved in the move that led to the goal, as well as setting up chances for Amos and Eze.
Jordan Hugill: 7
As well as a perfectly-judged leap and header to put QPR ahead inside the first minute, the centre-forward was unfortunate not to make it 2-1 with a superb shot on the turn just before half-time.
Fulham
Marek Rodak: 6
Motionless as Hugill headed Rangers into the lead, the keeper did much better with a flying save to deny him a second. His distribution lacked consistency, with a number of balls over-hit downfield.
Cyrus Christie: 7
Having bombed forward all night, Christie crowned his performance with a 75th-minute cracker from the edge of the box – his first Fulham goal and one that secured a crucial victory for his team.
Michael Hector: 6
Although he settled down after a shaky start, Hector struggled to cope with Osayi-Samuel’s speed and might also have done better at the other end, directing a header straight into Kelly’s hands.
Tim Ream: 6
Like his central defensive partner, Ream improved after being caught cold in the early exchanges, when he failed to deal with Manning’s cross and found himself outjumped by Hugill.
Denis Odoi: 7
Shifting seamlessly to left-back, he looked composed on the ball and closed Kane down efficiently as well as playing some intelligent balls forward, with Cairney and Ivan Cavaleiro the main beneficiaries.
Harrison Reed: 6
The tigerish Reed did much to lift Fulham out of their early stupor, putting in some powerful tackles and he almost got his name on the scoresheet, thumping a volley against the post just before Arter’s goal.
Harry Arter: 6
Until he brought the Whites level with a left-foot drive in the 20th minute, Arter hadn’t done a great deal, but the goal seemed to lift his game and he went close again soon afterwards with a deflected effort.
Ivan Cavaleiro: 8
The Portuguese winger provided Fulham’s most potent attacking threat, cutting inside and whipping some excellent passes to team-mates, as well as working smartly to run down the clock in the dying minutes.
Tom Cairney: 7
The skipper’s quality began to show as the game wore on and he became more influential in the centre of the park, spraying passes around and making runs into the right areas.
Anthony Knockaert: 6
Switching from left flank to right and then back again, Knockaert looked inconsistent and wasted a couple of good openings, as well as earning a yellow card for bringing down Osayi-Samuel.
Bobby Cordova-Reid: 6
Handed an opportunity to fill Aleksandar Mitrovic’s role at centre-forward, De Cordova-Reid never really took full advantage. He was restricted to a couple of half-chances and failed to find the target.[scriptless]
