Player Ratings: Fulham 2-2 Bournemouth
Written by Sammy James on 16th October 2022
Sammy James assesses the performances of the team after an entertaining, but frustrating draw with the Cherries at the Cottage.
Bernd Leno
A couple of great stops from our German GK. Not loads he could have done about either goal. Will caveat that by saying that the brilliant Smith save does come about after his poor parry seconds earlier.
Some of his long kicking in the first half felt very aimless, but his short passing was generally solid. Will undoubtedly win us points this season though. 6.5/10
Antonee Robinson
Another good performance from Antonee, it’s made a massive difference having him back in the defensive line. Not the perfect performance, as there were a few wayward crosses and he is caught out of position for Lerma’s second goal, but overall it’s great to have him back. 7.5/10
Tim Ream
Oh the Tim Ream enigma is strong right now. We saw the best and worst of him yesterday. A Rolls-Royce in the second-half, but calamitous in the first. Was lucky not to concede a penalty on Fredericks and I’m not really sure what he was doing for that second goal. Not sure if the Ream/Diop partnership is the answer going forward. 6/10
Issa Diop
Delighted for Issa to get his first goal, but otherwise a pretty shaky outing for our summer signing. Always looked seconds from disaster on the ball. Can see the potential, but also can see him potentially pinging a pass into own net one game soon. Jury very much still out. 6/10
Bobby Decordova-Reid
It’s a 7, but with an extra point for mitigating circumstances of not actually being a right-back. What Bobby did well yesterday, was being a right-winger, every time he got forward he looked dangerous. However, I don’t think this experiment can last much longer, Bournemouth targeted him in the first half, and he just isn’t natural in defence. 7/10
João Palhinha
Not João’s best performance. Still had some moments of quality, but didn’t dictate tempo like he normally does. Not sure how he avoided a yellow card yesterday after several lunging challenges. 6.5/10
Harrison Reed
A poor game for Harrison. Not sure a game like yesterday where we needed to dominate the ball is suited to his strengths. Was caught ball-watching for both goals. He has had a brilliant season, but I think some rotation with Cairney is the way forward. 5/10
Andreas Pereira
Really good performance from the Brazilian, his threat from set-pieces is enormous. Has really fitted into this side well, and provides bags of creativity. 7.5/10
Daniel James
A half to forget for our Welsh loanee. Offered very, very little going forward, whilst he also did not protect Decordova-Reid when out of possession. Rightly pulled off at half-time. 4/10
Neeskens Kebano
Struggled to impose himself on the game, with Ryan Fredericks doing well to limit his creativity. 5.5/10
Aleksander Mitrovic
Clearly unfit and probably thrown back in too soon by Marco Silva. However, the fact that he won a crucial penalty and dispatched it proves that it was a gamble worth taking. Grew in confidence after that and probably should have done better with a couple of his late chances. 6.5/10
Substitutes
Tom Cairney
Fantastic performance from the skipper. Breathed life into this side with his composed touches and brilliant range of passing. Definitely think he should be given a full 90 soon. 8/10 (MOTM)
Willian
Another impressive display from our veteran winger. Can see shades of the old class that obviously made him such a high pedigree player. Sadly none of his good play lead to a goal, but he will definitely be a valuable weapon for us this season. 7.5/10
Harry Wilson
Contributed well when he came on, and linked well with Bobby down the right. Still clearly getting back to full fitness, but positive signs for him, especially ahead of the World Cup. 7/10
Carlos Vinicius
Didn’t have much time to impact things, but came on and made himself a nuisance. Was fuming with Bobby D-R when he didn’t get the pullback from him. 6/10
