West Ham’s heaviest defeat under David Moyes; Fulham’s biggest win since Wednesday.
While his counterpart was digesting his most miserable afternoon of the season so far, Marco Silva explained why this afternoon was his best of the two 5-0 victories his team had achieved in five days.
“This afternoon we played against a team that had just won a derby away against Tottenham,” said the Fulham boss. “A team that is doing so well in the Europa League and has the ability to buy players for £50 million, not just one.”
“No doubt, this afternoon’s performance was even more comprehensive.”
The catalyst was Raul Jimenez, whose superb header opened what had been an evenly matched contest midway through the first half. It was the kind of finish that was the hallmark of a successful spell at Wolves before he suffered a career-ending head injury three years ago.
The Mexican has now scored four goals in five games since his strike against Aston Villa last month to end a 33-game Premier League drought, and Fulham’s cheap summer gamble of trusting that the old man is still in him looks to be paying off.
“He has regained his confidence,” Silva said. “In the first four or five games of the season, he gave the team a lot more than we gave him in terms of creating chances.”
Jimenez’s resurgence has been accompanied by a collective surge in goalscoring, with Silva’s side scoring 16 goals in four matches since the international break, compared to just ten in the first 12 games of the season.
Coming straight after Aleksandr Mitrovic’s departure to the Saudi Pro League in the summer, the Serb’s absence could hardly have been more painful, but with his team suddenly scoring goals, Silva is convinced Fulham can finally put their talisman behind them.
“Mitrovic was a top player for this football club,” said the Portuguese. “I love him and will have a relationship with him for the rest of my life. But now is the time to stop talking about him because he is no longer here.”
“Not only me, but the players, everyone in this football club, even the fans, have to support the players who are here. They have to keep their faith in the players here because they are fighting for this shirt.”
Here they were outstanding down to the last man, a fluid unit rotating around Jimenez, unleashed by the security of Joao Palhinha patrolling midfield.
“He has regained his self-confidence”
Marco Silva about Raul Jimenez
Willian doubled the lead before Tosin Adarabioyo slotted home from a corner. Harry Wilson’s wonder strike and Carlos Vinicius’s last-gasp goal made it five unique goalscorers on the day.
In total, nine different players have scored in Fulham’s last three Premier League games alone – a blessing for Silva, although he stresses that the idea that his team was ever too dependent on Mitrovic is a myth.
“In the championship we scored 106 goals and he scored 43, so the others scored more than 50 goals, we spread out with other players,” he said. “Last season he scored 14 goals, we scored who knows how many.”
“Of course, like every team, we have a top scorer. If you look at the teams in the Premier League, the top scorer is the top striker, that’s a normal situation.”
With Jimenez starting to hit his stride, Fulham can count themselves among that club again.
