Fulham deflated by back-to-back defeats

Arsenal 2-1 Fulham

Fulham 0-3 Crystal Palace

Someone at Craven Cottage must have offended the gods of football for them to impose on Fulham an eight-day sentence of playing an FA Cup quarter-final, followed by encounters with the top two clubs in the Premier League.

Whether it takes place at Woolwich, Highbury or the Emirates, an Arsenal-Fulham game feels like David and Goliath with the Philistine always the winner. So it proved on Tuesday evening, where the visitors started confidently enough but offered little real threat. Though Arsenal took a while to get going Gabriel Martinelli was a constant worry to the visitors defence.

In the 38th minute Ethan Nwaneri found Mikel Merino in a crowded penalty area and the Spaniard's insipid shot deflected off Jorge Cuenca to wrongfoot Bernd Leno. Fulham staged a modest fightback and early in the second half Raul Jimenez almost caught out David Raya.

With less than half an hour remaining Marco Silva sent on Andreas Pereira, Willian and Alex Iwobi in search of an equaliser but most spectators focused their attention on Bukayo Saka's return to the action. If only he had waited a few days longer.

Almost inevitably Merino and Martinelli, capitalising on a weak clearance, set up a simple chance for Saka, who headed what turned out to be the winning goal.

To their credit Fulham did not surrender. Willian and Iwobi split the home defence and presented Rodrigo Muniz with a perfect centre that he somehow headed wide. The Brazilian atoned by converting Ryan Sessegnon's pass though once again a weak shot was made unstoppable by a deflection. A 2-1 defeat was no disgrace but we are still waiting for Goliath to hit the turf.

Wembley dreams dashed

As for the FA Cup, it all seemed so right, the prospect of Fulham reaching Wembley half a century after their only Final. The 5th Round victory at Manchester United raised our hopes even though the quarter final opponents Crystal Palace had beaten the Whites 2-0 at the Cottage just five weeks previously.

With the noonday sunshine baking the crowded stadium the Hammersmith Enders elected to stand throughout the match, making it an uncomfortable watch for some spectators, particularly the youngest and the oldest. The club has a relaxed attitude to this irritating and antisocial practice but the stewards should at the very least be authorised to keep the gangways clear.

Marco Silva retained the starting line-up of the Old Trafford victory except that Willian replaced Adama Traore, whilst Palace also fielded a strong side with Jean-Philippe Mateta returning after his horrendous injury.

There was a bright start when Rodrigo Muniz bustled through the visitors' defence and shot just wide. The Whites looked confident but, as so often, their control of the play did not produce any goals.

Willian sent over a series of well-placed corners, Andreas Pereira wasted a good opportunity and Sasa Lukic and Joachim Andersen took potshots but the Palace defence stayed firm. Fulham also had to repel several raids with Sander Berge making a timely intervention and goalkeeper Bernd Leno blocking Maxence Lacroix.

Referee Darren England issued an early yellow card to Adam Wharton. This action may have deterred other hotheads but Wharton failed to heed the warning and could justifiably have been dismissed for a subsequent peevish foul. Twenty minutes in a sin bin might have curbed his aggression without spoiling the match.

Presumably Silva had pondered the question 'How do you solve a problem like Eberechi Eze?'. Between the 34th and the 38th minute the English international destroyed any Fulham hopes of a return to Wembley. His first goal was a peach, right footed from just outside the area.

Then he roamed free on the left before using his other foot to cross for Ismaila Sarr to head past Leno. The match having begun at 12.15pm was effectively over by 1 o'clock.

Since the departure of Aleks Mitrovic, the Whites have not relied on any single individual. Willian, Rodrigo Muniz, Raul Jimenez, Harry Wilson and others have come up with vital goals and Silva must have expected one of his men to save this tie but sadly no-one stepped out of his zone.

The second half saw Lukic, Andersen and Antonee Robinson vainly attempting to pierce the well organised defence. Only Willian got as far as troubling Dean Henderson.

Substitutes Adama Traore and Émile Smith Rowe also made little impact unlike Eddie Nketiah, who replaced Mateta and scored within two minutes. The ball went between Leno's legs and Nketiah looked offside though the new semi-automatic procedure validated the goal.

By the 75th minute the Fulham-till-I-die warriors were slumped in their seats or making for the exits. The remaining substitutes Jimenez, Ryan Sessegnon and Tom Cairney could not lift the gloom.

This undeniable letdown left a place in Europe as the club's only achievable target. Silva was candid: 'We have to work as hard as we can, even harder than before.' By common consent Fulham face the toughest run-in of all the likely candidates but it is a prize worth striving for.