Marco Silva hailed the ‘brilliant’ impact of his substitutes as Emile Smith Rowe came off the bench to score his first touch and earn Fulham a point against Manchester United at Craven Cottage this afternoon.

The Whites scored more goals through their substitutes (19) than any other Premier League side last season – and Smith Rowe followed in the footsteps of Rodrigo Muniz, who scored a stoppage time equaliser at Brighton last weekend, by finding the net within two minutes of replacing Josh King.

Silva told his post-match press conference:

“The players that came on were brilliant. Last week was the same and last season it was the story of the season. Harry Wilson had a great pre-season and today he started on the bench, but a massive impact from him. Raúl [Jiménez] started last week and of course Emile, helped the team last week with the build up for the goal and this afternoon he scored. He knows he’s important for us and he can arrive in the right spots.”

The Fulham boss praised his players for fighting back after they fell behind to a controversial goal from Lenny Yoro – that has now been credited as a Rodrigo Muniz own goal.

They started better, but from 20 minutes we controlled really well. We didn’t give many spaces to them and they only created moments from set pieces. They scored, but it was a great reaction from the boys in a difficult moment of the game. We finished the game stronger, in and around their box with some good moments. I’m proud of the fans and the way they were with the team right until the end.”