Bernd Leno: A strange sort of game for the stand-in skipper. Leno was largely blameless for the goals he conceded, having had little to do but pick the ball out of the net across the whole 105 minutes, but the German goalkeeper will be disappointed with the avoidable nature of the goals that put Fulham in a real whole in south Yorkshire. 6
Timmy Castagne: The Belgian looked lively going forward, completing the majority of his passes, and getting into the final third as a real threat on several occasions. He was well positioned to prevent a few dangerous Blades thrusts in the first half but will be particularly perturbed by the fact that all three Sheffield United goals originated along the left flank. A clumsy tackle gave away the free-kick that began the move for the second goal – and Silva’s attacking substitution to remove Castagne from the fray ultimately paid rich dividends. 6
Antonee Robinson: Quite possibly the American international’s poorest afternoon of a superb season. He seemed to struggle with the speed and directness of Sheffield United’s wing-backs and hardly covered himself in glory for the second and third goals. Brereton Diaz found it far too easy to get beyond him and Bassey and suddenly Fulham were in real strife at 3-1 down. Kept charging forward until the very end – which was no mean feat – during fourteen minutes of added time and won the free-kick from which Tom Cairney could have won it. 5
Tosin Adarabioyo: An afternoon to forget for Tosin, who generously donated the opener to the home side with a pass that was woefully short of its target. He was slow to spot the danger for the second goal, that arrived after a quickly taken free-kick, and was fortunate that his horrible mistimed clearance for McBurnie’s disallowed second effort was rendered academic by the VAR. Tosin has spoken about his desire to play Champions’ League football – this was a haphazard display that was far removed from that level. He should sign the big contract put on the table by Fulham and continue his development at Craven Cottage. 5
Calvin Bassey: Bassey was more assured than his central defensive partner for much of the afternoon but appeared to go AWOL in the two minutes of madness that saw the league’s bottom side move two goals clear. He wasn’t blameless for the first goal having checked over his shoulder to see where Ben Brereton Diaz was as McBurnie measured his cross and left the Chilean international entirely unmarked for the second and third goals. 5
Joao Palhinha: The Portuguese took a little while to get up to the pace of the contest for me, but was soon hitting his stride – not just with the tackles we’ve come to know and love but some lovely manipulation of the ball in central midfield. Grabbed his goal with a lovely looping header over Grbic from Andreas Pereira’s corner and ensured that Fulham weren’t overrun in the middle after United went 3-1 in front. 7
Sasa Lukic: Not the Serbian’s strongest day in the middle of the park but he still got through plenty of gritty work off the ball. Kept it neat and tidy with his passing and won a couple of vital tackles, but his departure – and the tactical switches that eventually saw Cairney come into the engine room – eventually saw a fitful Fulham side finish on top. 6
Alex Iwobi: Unfortunate not to set up the opener when Muniz’s first half effort was pushed onto the post after Iwobi played a beautiful ball through the heart of the home defence. Struggled to impose himself on proceedings as he has in recent weeks, but that might have been done to the robustness of Wilder’s 3-5-2, which saw both of Fulham’s wingers nullified for large parts of the match. 6
Willian: The evergreen Brazilian proved dangerous in fits and spurts, although he seemed strangely reluctant to take on Jayden Bogle. Willian’s impeccable control and ability to give his defenders a breather was particularly important in the second half and he kept plugging away until the end – even if this wasn’t one of his more influential afternoons. 6
Andreas Pereira: On another day, Pereira’s silky skills and probing passing would have inspired Fulham to a comfortable win. Buoyed by his appearances for Brazil over the international break, the attacking midfielder had a hand in both of Muniz’s chances that struck the woodwork – his cross for the second half header was simply sublime. There was no quibbling with his insatiable work rate and the quality of his passing was first class. 7
Rodrigo Muniz: This wasn’t Rodrigo’s easiest assignment against three physical and streetwise Sheffield United centre halves but he went about it with real relish. Muniz could easily have had a hat-trick. Grbic’s firm hand onto the post in the first half was a superb save and the centre forward was desperately unlucky to hit the near post with a lovely header from Pereira’s cross in the second half. He kept going and saved the best until last – a brilliant bicycle kick from Adama Traore’s cross sparking sensational scenes in the away end. 9
Substitutes:
Adama Traore: The Spanish winger was superb after he came off the bench midway through the second half. His pace and power terrifies full backs and he was a willing outlet at a time when the Whites sorely needed an injection of belief. He always looked likely to provide a goal it came with a lovely lifted cross in stoppage time that was so majestically converted by Muniz. Traore is such an asset to bring off the bench – the next question will be how to fit him in Silva’s best side, fitness permitting. 8
Tom Cairney: A match-turning cameo from central midfield from the skipper. The quality of Cairney’s burst forward and pass into the space that was converted from long-range by Bobby De Cordova-Reid might be glossed over in all the salivating over Muniz’s magnificent finish, but it really shouldn’t be. Cairney kept possession brilliantly for Fulham – putting Silva’s side firmly on top throughout stoppage time – and the only blot on his copybook was shooting straight at Grbic from that well-worked free-kick. 8
Bobby De Cordova-Reid: The Jamaican international has a reputation as being Fulham’s jack of all trades but he doesn’t half score some important goals for the Whites. Add his piledriver from 25 yards at Bramall Lane to the list – as it sparked a superb comeback from a position where the Whites looked dead and buried. He’s a crucial part of Marco Silva’s squad, even if he isn’t a regular starter, and yesterday shows exactly why. 8
Raul Jimenez: Jimenez might not have grabbed the limelight as he got a few more minutes in the legs but his presence up top created more space for the likes of Traore, De Cordova-Reid and Muniz to create carnage as that incredible second half reached a remarkable conclusion. A player of his class will certainly push Muniz all the way in keeping the shirt – and we’ve already seen evidence of that. 6
Kenny Tete: The Dutch full back’s late introduction added another dimension to Fulham’s attack and kept the Sheffield United wing-backs pinned deep in their half for most of what seemed like a never-ending period of added time. 6
