Fulham coach Claudio Ranieri is remaining upbeat despite his side’s 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
A first-half penalty from Luka Milivojevic, and a late Jeffrey Schlupp strike was enough to condemn the Whites to defeat.
“If you analyse the match, we’re a little disappointed after the first half,” said Ranieri in his post-match press conference. “We managed the ball very well, we created one chance with Mitrovic, and then there was a stupid foul, maybe [Cyrus Christie] hand was pushed, and that moment changed the match.
“If Mitrovic scored a goal in that moment, I think it would’ve changed the match, because when you’re playing well and have a chance to score a goal, everyone becomes stronger, but that’s football. We have to be positive. We have a target in mind, and we must continue to fight.
“We lost a match, we lost a battle, but not a war. Our performance was good in the first half and we tried to get everything from the match, but it wasn’t enough. Maybe we spent a lot of energy against Brighton when we were 2-0 down. I played three at the back today, and we played better in the first than in the second half. I tried to change it to help my players like we did against Brighton, but it worked good against Brighton, today it didn’t’.
“We continued to play and tried to do our game and made a few crosses for Mitrovic because we know he’s dangerous when you cross the ball to him. I always ask to make crosses for him, but it’s not sometimes possible. I tried to put another striker in, but Crystal Palace played better, and, in the end, they deserved to win.
With Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City all set to visit Craven Cottage over the course of the next couple months, Ranieri is hopeful of picking up valuable points back at home.
“All the big teams are coming to Craven Cottage, and maybe we can take some points from the big teams. We wanted points here – it wasn’t possible, but maybe it’ll be possible against the big teams at home. In the Premier League, you never know what will happen. We have to be positive every time, until the end. I want the maximum in every training session. I want the maximum in every match. I’m positive.”
