Player Ratings: Fulham 3-1 Newcastle United

The words ‘Newcastle United’ leave a slight sense of dread in Fulham fans based on recent history as Marco Silva seems to have struggled against Eddie Howe’s Toon Army, but this game at the cottage was an entirely different story. With strength across the pitch in so many areas, the mighty Whites proved far too much for the Magpies to handle, especially from an offensive standpoint. This performance was the perfect display to showcase how strong this current squad is – we are well and truly a force to be reckoned with. Let’s dive into the player ratings to highlight who shined in particular.

Bernd Leno

It’s been really harsh on Leno that he hasn’t been getting clean sheets on a near weekly basis due to a couple of last minute goals at Old Trafford and against the Hammers. As always, he showed calmness and composure, proving he’s well and truly number one at the club, highlighting a slight gulf in class between him and Benda at this stage. His short pass to a highly pressed Smith Rowe in the danger area near the hour mark was a very poor decision that could have so easily led to Newcastle’s equaliser, thankfully we got away with it today and hopefully we won’t see a repeat of that anytime soon. 6.5/10

Kenny Tete

Kenny Tete Baby. I was really impressed with him today, as he shut down Gordon with his brute upper body strength and aggressive slide tackles. He also found himself in advanced positions up the pitch on a regular basis and linked up well on the ground with Adama. The transformation since Forest away last year has been spectacular and it’s great to see him back to his best. 7.5/10

Calvin Bassey

He’s got quite the task on his hands keeping Diop and Cuenca out of the side, but this new partnership with Andersen really feels like something for Fulham fans to get excited about. Both excellent ball players, Bassey completed 31/32 accurate passes today while winning both of his ground duels and making six clearances. Take into account that this is only the second game they’ve started together, and the future really is looking bright for our defence. 6.5/10

Joachim Andersen

What a joy it is to see Andersen back in a Fulham shirt, it honestly feels like he never left. Tenacious as a defender who takes no prisoners, he shut down the Newcastle threat today, and seeing Joachim’s prowess on the ball driving through the midfield is excellent, and the occasional belter at goal is always welcome as we saw him test Pope today from 25 yards. The beautiful diagonal balls up the pitch make him a complete defender. Having said that, he has to take a portion of the blame for the Newcastle equaliser, as he pushed on too far forward in a failed attempt to win the ball that left us completely exposed. I’m confident this was just an overly-keen post kick-off moment though and the rest of his game was superb. 7/10

Antonee Robinson

One of the quieter games for Jedi today, and that’s not a criticism. He displayed the usual impressive work rate and kept things in check well on the left hand side. Arguably a little too advanced for the Toon’s goal at the start of the second half which left us short at the back with a three on two situation, exposing us. Allowed Iwobi to advance more in the match and got involved in the attacks on the ball whilst covering the usual inhumane amount of ground across the pitch. He’s grown into one the best left backs we’ve ever had. 6.5/10

Sasa Lukic

Sasa often quietly goes under the radar in games and he allows the other creative players to take over while not having the ferocity of Palhinha’s immense slide tackles that we grew to love from a defensive perspective, but when you look deeper into the stats he’s a real solid player. With 21/21 accurate passes made from his first half outing, he’s linking the play together fluently and working hard as he aims to prove to fans and the manager that he is worthy of a starting place. I love the improvement he’s made at the club. Silva was right to mix things up and take him off at half time after the yellow card as we needed players to be all in when breaking down the Newcastle attack. 6.5/10

Emile Smith Rowe

ESR is proving every bit as exciting as Fulham fans had hoped and wished for. An unbelievable driving force in the advanced central midfield role, his ball control, manipulation and dribbling skills are turning opposition defences inside out. His link up play with ex-Arsenal teammate Iwobi was exceptional again, and that chemistry is clear to see. This was specially evident in the lead up to the deftly placed second goal of the game for Fulham in a lovely move that tore open the Toon’s backline. In almost an identical bit of play, Emile saw his vicious curling shot across goal smack against the crossbar which would have had him stealing all of the headlines. Just a reminder, this guy is 24 years old. If he stays injury-free and remains at the club for a few years, he could well and truly become one of the best players in our history.  8.5/10

Andreas Pereira

I feel for Andreas losing out on the CAM position that he made his own in previous seasons, but the comparison to ESR there is night and day and it’s the correct decision by Silva to slot him in the deeper role for now. He also provides an excellent back up in a more advanced position should ever we need it. Again I was left feeling frustrated in moments with Pereira today, as we saw the trademark rashly taken shot from far go wide, and often it seems like he goes for the easier option of crossing which often doesn’t hit the mark. His 68% passing accuracy compared to Sasa’s 100% does also raise a few concerns, although it has to be considered he is playing more key passes into dangerous areas. I think we just have to back Andreas for now and hope he adapts over time into this new midfield we’re navigating. 6/10

Alex Iwobi

Some excellent link up play, particularly with Emile Smith Rowe, which neatly provided the assist for the second Fulham goal. Struggled on a couple of occasion to dribble past players with his usual dexterity with only 1/4 successful take-ons and no accurate crosses. Arguably should have bagged two goals from close range as one effort was placed straight at the keeper and the other well wide of the mark. Nevertheless he still proved to be a handful in possession and his passing accuracy was an important part of the win. 6.5/10

Raul Jimenez

The debate of Raul v Muniz is well and truly over at this moment in time in my opinion, with his goal scoring ability and stats well and truly proving the point. He opened the scoring today by coming in deep, playing the ball out wide to his ex-wolves teammate Adama and was straight back in the centre of the box to bring the cross down on his chest and volley on the turn into the bottom corner, a simply superb strike that epitomises his class as a player. He doesn’t drift out of sight in between the centre backs, always getting involved in the link up play and the nitty-gritty side of the game with a solid press to back it up. In the absence of a direct replacement for Mitrovic I believe this is Raul’s season to shine if he’s given the nod. 8.5/10 – Man of the Match

Adama Traore

Traore’s ascendancy into the squad has felt like a major new signing for us this season, he’s rapidly becoming one of my favourite Fulham players. With the usual explosive pace and strength that he so often demonstrates, Adama bagged another assist with a delightful cross to Raul and his end product seems to be getting sharper game-by-game. With a remarkable passing accuracy of 97%, Newcastle’s attempt to thwart us by sticking Kelly at left back well and truly failed. 8/10

Substitutes

Sander Berge (46′ for Lukic)

I don’t know if it’s harsh, but i’m still trying to figure Berge out – where he fits in this system, what type of player he is, and what I should be expecting of him. On the face of it, he’s a solid player, with a great physical presence who can play football and pick out passes when needed. Hopefully in time his role will become more defined and perhaps with a few starts under his belt we’ll begin to understand what he’s made of. He’s probably unfairly compared to Palhinha which is understandable, so I hope he carves his own space into the team soon that we can learn to appreciate. 6/10

Harrison Reed (67′ for Pereira)

You know what you’re getting as soon as Reed comes on, a tenacious little midfielder chomping at the bit to hassle opposition players in possession at any given moment. Did the job he was assigned and it’s great to have him as an extra midfield option in these key moments of the game 6/10

Reiss Nelson (74′ for Adama)

Such a solid option off the bench and today he crowned his first Premier League goal at Craven Cottage for Fulham. A nifty player on the ball, he soaks up pressure well and loved to take people on which saw him deliver an excellent cross into the box. His strong press led to him stealing possession from Bruno’s awful pass across goal and he finished with skill and composure – a really bright talent that fans are going to be desperate to make a permanent signing. 8/10

Rodrigo Muniz (74′ for Jimenez)

Still playing with a smile on his face, you love to see it. I think Muniz just needs to be patient now, at age 33 Raul isn’t going to be the long-term solution to Fulham’s Centre Forward needs, and you imagine Muniz is the natural successor should things go the way he hopes. But ultimately we need our strikers to get goals alongside the hold up play and unfortunately for Muniz the numbers aren’t there in front of goal at the moment. A vital asset to the club and one that will bear fruit in time I feel. 6/10

Issa Diop (84′ for Smith Rowe)

Sometimes when things get tactically defensive it can leave fans worried that we’re going to let the lead slip, however today this was managed perfectly and Diop provided the ideal brick wall presence that we needed to shut the opposition down. He’s had an excellent campaign to date and will be chomping at the bit for more minutes. Super solid. 7/10