Fulham 5-0 Nottingham Forest
After a recent glut of goals, I anticipated more of the same when Nottingham Forest visited Craven Cottage on Wednesday evening.
The visitors are not the fiercest opposition, but I would have been content with a repeat of the previous home tally (3-2) minus the controversy and the tedious VAR. Instead, we were treated to an early Christmas present – a team performance that not even Scrooge at his most miserly could have faulted.
The first half hour gave little indication of what was to ensue. Both sides showed an inclination to attack but the defences looked organised and confident. Odysseas Vlachidimos made a comfortable save from Raul Jimenez but otherwise the goalkeepers saw little action. Then it all started.
Ibrahim Sangare lost possession allowing Calvin Bassy to initiate a Tom Cairney-Willian interchange that provided a simple finish for Alex Iwobi. Then Joao Palhinha's tackle on Murillo sent Iwobi and Andreas Pereira into action, the grateful recipient of the telling pass being Raul Jimenez who provided a stylish finish.
Halftime
Two goals down at the interval, Forest could have staged a fight-back – but their spirit expired when Pereira's canny free kick found Jimenez in the opponents' penalty area and the resurgent striker beat three defenders before backheeling the ball into the net.
He had pushed Ola Aina with his hand but the goal was valid. Iwobi's second was a simple conversion of substitute Harry Wilson's centre after good work from Timothy Castagne and Pereira. The latter was also involved in the fifth goal, a vintage Cairney effort.
Fulham had six shots on target, five of which had counted. This looked bad for the keeper Vlachodimos but he had no hope of saving any of them and his defenders offered little protection.
We mercilessly bayed for a sixth and some fans even urged keeper Bernd Leno to join the assault on the Forest goal. The Whites were content to play exhibition football to end a perfect match. VAR had caused only one brief delay (to uphold a decision), so the officials also did a fine job.
Triumph
Fulham thoroughly deserved this triumph after leaving Anfield last Sunday with good reviews but no points.
Fulham scored three times on Liverpool's home territory and nearly held out for a draw.
The home team attacked from the start and Mo Salah looked to have opened the scoring. The point was disallowed but the officials' decision came too late to prevent Leno from a head injury incurred when diving at an opponent's feet. The keeper stayed on the pitch but had no hope of saving Trent Alexander-Arnold's swerving free kick after Palhinha's foul on Dominik Szoboszlai. The ball actually hit the underside of the bar and bounced in off Leno.
Far from initiating a massacre, this stirred Fulham to respond. Just four minutes later Iwobi, Pereira and Antonee Robinson swooped down the left wing and presented Harry Wilson with an equaliser that went between Caoimhin Kelleher's legs. The Welshman appeared embarrassed by scoring against his former club. Come on, Harry, you've been with us since July 2021.
A misdirected header from Jimenez led to a further long-range goal for Liverpool, Alexis MacAllister showing the same precision as his colleague. The Mexican atoned by feeding Kenny Tete with a goal resulting from a corner, giving Fulham what the Independent sniffily termed 'undeserved parity' at the break – Match of the Day reckoned that Fulham ended the half on top. What is more, Tim Ream had a goal disallowed.
The hour mark arrived with that parity undisturbed. Once again Marco Silva employed some wily substitutions, sending on Cairney and (no doubt to Jurgen's alarm) Willian.
A slightly later arrival, Bobby DeCordova-Reid, headed Cairney's cross into Kelleher's net putting Fulham 3-2 ahead with ten minutes left. That would have been an enviable prospect in previous seasons but not with the current allowance of added time and not against Liverpool. After Waturu Endo equalised, that wretched Alexander-Arnold contrived a winner in the dying seconds.
Still it was a performance to savour and as Tim Ream summed it up: "The goals are coming and that's a good way to look at things."
Spot on, Tim. Apparently we have not had a similar scoring run since the days of Johny Haynes, Graham Leggat and Les Barrett.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
