It may seem churlish to grumble following such a magnificent season but Fulham aren’t exactly blowing away the opposition any more. They have established a commanding position atop the Championship through free-flowing attacking football, but recent results have owed more to fortitude and organisation than brilliance in the final third. Take yesterday’s win at Cardiff, for instance, which extended the Londoners’ unbeaten run on the road to nine league matches. It was secured by Aleksandar Mitrovic’s 34th goal of the season – although the soft concession from a set piece will have frustrated Steve Morison.
The interim Bluebirds boss insisted in the build up to this weekend’s fixture that it was probably impossible to stop Mitrovic, so in form was the Serbian striker. The best they could do was limit his effectiveness by cutting off the service. The Welsh outfit did they very effectively in the first half – restricting Fulham’s number nine to just fourteen touches – but the most telling of them resulted in the game’s decisive moment. Finding new ways to feed Mitrovic has been vital as Championship defences have sought to shackle him and this is where Silva and his coaching staff have excelled. The winner in south Wales was the 22nd goal the Whites have scored from a set play this season.
Fulham’s invention from set pieces was the talk of the early season, with plenty of pundits and opposing managers drawing a link with the NBA and suggesting they skirted the line between being clever and illegal. Blocking off markers at set plays have been commonplace for years. Italian defenders didn’t exactly try to hide their manhandling from officials and Fulham’s efforts this term were also particularly brazen. The first time we saw it was when Tosin Adarabioyo screened Mitrovic’s marker, Jacob Greaves, against Hull – allowing the centre forward to run challenged and head in the opening goal in August. Adarabioyo literally stood stock still, Greaves fell to the turf and Fulham took the lead.
There are countless other examples. The now departed Denis Odoi prevents Joe Worrall from getting touch tight with Mitrovic at Nottingham Forest, leading to Fulham’s opening goal at the City Ground. At Birmingham, Nathaniel Chalobah gets in the way of Jeremie Bela allowing Odoi the time and space to connect with Harry Wilson’s corner. Fulham’s use of these tactics mirrors the way England were successful at the 2018 World Cup, but Silva’s set piece approach is constantly evolving.
Mitrovic, an understandable dead ball target given his ability in the air, had his two best openings in the first half yesterday from corners. Normally stationed in the middle of the penalty area to maximise his chances of directing an effort on the goal, the Fulham forward drifted unhindered well outside the far post to connect with a deep delivery from Harrison Reed. He probably didn’t get the cleanest of contacts in diverting the ball back across goal and Tim Ream also miscued his subsequent attempt to force the ball home at the near post, but it was a clear plan on Fulham’s part.
The winner also came from a clever routine, although – as Harry Wilson revealed afterwards there was change to what had been practised at Motspur Park. Reed took the short corner himself, with Wilson on the end of an elaborate set of short passes, to whip in a dangerous delivery. The presence of three white shirts over on the right flank gave Fulham an overload and should have made Mitrovic easier to mark in the middle. The Serbian’s movement took him away from Aiden Flint in the blink of an eye and he made the subsequent header from an acute angle look easy. Mitrovic was also aided by Chalobah craftily blocking off the big central defender as he sought to react. The ball in from Wilson was superb but the swiftness of the interplay between the winger, Reed and Bobby Decordova-Reid caught Cardiff cold.
The telling moment came on the Fulham bench where Silva and his coaching staff exchanged happy high fives. Much of the concern upon the Portuguese taking the job at Craven Cottage centred on whether he could conquer the set piece frailties that ultimately undermined his last spell in English football at Everton. Fulham haven’t looked all that vulnerable from defensive dead balls – with Tim Ream throwing himself in the way of several in stoppage time yesterday and everyone appearing to have a clearly defined role – and are still coming up with new ways to befuddle the opposition at the other end of the field. ‘Marginal gains’ to use that famous Clive Woodward phrase are still making the difference.
