Fulham boss explains substitution against Villa

Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic revealed he took Scott Malone off and brought on Neeskens Kebano because he feared 10-man Aston Villa were beginning to “dominate” the ball.

Despite being 1-0 down and a man short after Jonathan Kodjia’s sending-off, Villa began the second half well and equalised through Jack Grealish’s superb curling strike.

After another spell of possession, Jokanovic brought on Kebano to play on the wing and pushed first goalscorer Ryan Sessegnon to left-back – and the change worked as Villa were overwhelmed by the extra attacker, with Sone Aluko restoring the lead.

Kebano himself sealed the victory late on and the Whites boss was pleased to see the change have the desired effect.

Jokanovic said: “We gave them 50 seconds possession of the ball, we didn’t press them enough and they equalised.

“They controlled and dominated us around the time they scored the goal.

“I decided to put on one more aggressive player and don’t give them so many chances to move us around.

“At the end we found some benefits from this change. I didn’t change Scott Malone because he didn’t play a good game – I needed to make this decision for the benefit of my team.”

Jokanovic also revealed he hoped to have a fully-fit squad to choose from when they travel to Huddersfield on Saturday, with full-back Denis Odoi close to a return.