A disappointing afternoon at Molineux where, had Fulham been a bit more clinical, they could have been in a commanding position before half time.
Bernd Leno: Difficult to blame the German international for the goals. He made a vital dash from his line in the first half to prevent Rayan Ait-Nouri from opening the scoring and made a couple of smart saves in the second half to keep Fulham in the contest – but the problems were elsewhere in Fulham’s defence. 6
Timothy Castagne: Worked hard down the right but struggled once Ait-Nouri was pushed further forward following the premature departure of Pedro Neto. Was replaced by Armando Broja with ten minutes to go and then change breathed a bit more life into a Fulham forward line that had fluffed plenty of clear chances. 6
Antonee Robinson: Started the game rather sloppily and found it difficult to deal with Neto’s driving runs – which is why felt like something of a stroke of luck when he left the field clutching his hamstring at the end of the first half. Robinson’s crossing wasn’t quite on the mark – until the very end of stoppage time when a good ball was flicked on by Broja for Alex Iwobi to finish. 6
Tosin Adarabioyo: Missed a glorious chance to give Fulham the lead in the first half when he crashed a shot against the bar having stayed forward from a free kick and found himself unmarked from Harrison Reed’s cross. He also looked all over the place at the start of the second half and was caught out by the intensity of Wolves’ pressing. An afternoon to forget. 5
Calvin Bassey: The Nigerian was culpable for Wolves’ opening goal having failed to deal with the danger at the far post from a free-kick. It seemed like a simple clearing header but Bassey could only get it as far as Toti and Ait-Nouri was able to hammer home from close range. Like all of Fulham’s defenders, he looked caught in the headlights for a while after the interval – and that proved the difference between the sides. 5
Harrison Reed: Kept his place in the side after two dominant displays at Old Trafford and in the win over Brighton, but was completely overshadowed by his former Fulham team-mate Mario Lemina. It was Reed’s late lunge on Lemina, punished by a yellow card, that led to the first goal and it was no surprise to see him hooked as Marco Silva sought a way back into the contest. 5
Sasa Lukic: Neat and tidy from the Serbian with the ball at his feet, but Fulham’s midfield pairing were eventually overwhelmed by Wolves’ industry. Lukic found plenty of space in the midfield in the first period, producing some lovely touches to start the move that led to Wilson’s wonderful chance, but once the home side went in front any possession he had was in areas far too deep to make a difference. 6
Harry Wilson: The Welshman will know he should have put Fulham in front early in the first half. Wilson accelerated onto a brilliant ball from Iwobi to go clean through on goal but opted to take the finish on his left foot rather than going round Jose Sa or even dinking the ball over the goalkeeper. It was a glaring miss. A trademark cut inside and curled effort flew fractionally wide of the target early in the second half. 5
Alex Iwobi: Iwobi’s movement and passing posed real problems for Wolves in the first period, particularly when he played a peach of pass between the centre backs for Wilson, and he looked Fulham’s most likely source of a goal. That it arrived right at the end of eight minutes of added time proved immensely disappointing – but the Nigerian took it superbly. His best goalscoring season is well worthy of personal celebration. 7
Andreas Pereira: Buzzed around with real intent in the first half, but like everyone else in the Fulham side failed to start the second period in similar fashion. Could have scored when he found space in the box after overlapping Iwobi’s run but the Brazilian’s effort was turned away from danger. Faded badly once Wolves went ahead. 5
Rodrigo Muniz: Not many of Fulham’s chances featured Muniz but he gave Santiago Bueno and Max Kilman a torrid time. He bounced off the latter to almost connect with a Pereira pass early in the first half and was a willing runner throughout – but the ball wouldn’t fall for him in the box. Had a late shot blocked before the visitors laid siege to Sa’s goal in stoppage time. 6
Substitutes:
Tom Cairney: The captain’s key intervention came at the wrong end of the field as Semedo’s shot struck his backside and left Leno completely wrong-footed. He cajoled and prompted, with the Whites eventually making a real impression on the Wolves goal, but that period of pressure came far too late. 6
Willian: Added some poise and purpose out wide that had been missing as Wolves got a firm grip of the contest early in the second half, producing one perceptive ball to free Iwobi inside the area only for the Nigerian’s shot to be blocked. 6
Joao Palhinha: Snapped into tackles in the middle of the park in a manner that was sorely missed right after the interval. Was almost immediately cautioned, but a second foul that had most of Molineux roaring for a red card was a superbly timed challenge. You feel Palhinha has to come back in against Spurs. 6
Adama Traore: Made a real difference off the bench on his old stomping ground. Forced a fine save from Sa after a powerful run and shot over from outside the box during a lively cameo. 7
Armando Broja: Silva’s switch to a front two really unsettled the Wolves rearguard. Broja put himself about – perhaps fired by a lack of game time during his loan spell – and laid on the goal for Iwobi. 7
Pity Wilson elected to use his left foot instead of rounding the keeper to his right and finishing with a simple tap-in with the inside of his ‘right’ foot! Two errors of ‘snap’ judgement – Wilson’s and Tosin’s, together with Calvin’s weak header, lost us that game, or it could have been Wolves 0 – 4/5 Fulham!
Steve D did you actually watch the same match as me?
Fulham couldnt score in the brothel.
Agree with Steve D. Another day when finishing is a fraction sharper and defending a fraction more positive it would have been a convincing Fulham win and a totally different Sunday vibe. Those fractions abd fine margins again…
Good 1st half. Incisive passing, really poor finishing.
23 shots but unfortunately only one fell to Muniz.
As soon as Bassey made his mistake the game changed and their crowd woke up and sang their one song.
Embarrasing Wolves. Constantly throwing themselves to ground to disrupt the game and con the ref. 14 minutes extra played. Not so much Wolves as Pussies