Seven games to set a club-record Premier League points total and earn a European spot. Are Fulham going to feel the pressure?
“We set the target at the beginning of the season for us to arrive in the final stages fighting for something important,” head coach Marco Silva tells Sky Sports.
“It is not extra pressure or more pressure for us. It is a privilege to have this type of thing. It is what I want.
“It is the pressure that I put on myself, my staff, my players and now if we have the chance to fight [for it], we have to embrace it.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Premier League highlights of the match between Fulham and Liverpool
Fulham are on a high again after becoming only the second side this season to topple Liverpool and the first to do it on home turf. The victory came at the end of their toughest moment of the season, an FA Cup quarter-final defeat at home to Crystal Palace and then a loss at Arsenal.
“What makes the difference between the normal sides and the good sides is the way you are able to bounce back and the way you are able to show the character and the personality as a team,” says Silva, whose team need two more wins to surpass the Premier League record Roy Hodgson’s team set in 2009.
The result was a statement in how Silva has aimed to change the club’s mentality when playing against the top sides. They have beaten Nottingham Forest and Newcastle twice this season, plus Chelsea.
“I remember the first season in the Premier League, against teams that were below us, most of the time we were able to get the points. Against teams that were above us, we were not able to,” says Silva. “It was something that I was questioning almost every single week.
“It was something that we changed completely in terms of our mindset. Slight things in the approach, but mindset much more. Our bravery and our ambition for those games and to not change anything. To respect our identity and our philosophy as well.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Jamie Carragher breaks down how Marco Silva outsmarted Arne Slot as Fulham stunned Premier League leaders Liverpool
Between 2018 and 2022, Fulham were either promoted or relegated each season but since returning to the Premier League under Silva, they have finished 10th and 13th without the threat of relegation.
They have done it after losing their two best players in the last two summers, striker Aleksandar Mitrovic and midfielder Joao Palhinha. “Other teams when they sell their main strikers, they go and they spend everything in their position. We are not able to do it. We solve it in a different way.”
Raul Jimenez and Rodrigo Muniz have both hit double figures in all competitions. Antonee Robinson’s 10 assists is the most of any defender in the Premier League. Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey have both improved to become key players.
In a season where the three promoted clubs, Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich, are all likely to go straight back down, it is a significant achievement that Fulham have established themselves in the top flight.
Rodrigo Muniz completed Fulham’s remarkable first-half turnaround against Liverpool
It is why Silva has been linked with jobs at Manchester United and Tottenham. Fulham will be desperate to keep him with a year left on his contract. Does he deserve more credit?
“That is not for me to talk about. My focus is really on my job, what I can control,” he says.
“What I can control is the way my team is going to play. It’s the philosophy that I want in the team. The identity that I always try for my players to have, to make them better players individually and collectively. To make the club better every single week, every single month, every single season. That is the main thing for me.
“We have been doing fantastic things on the pitch.”
Fulham have exceeded expectations under Silva and now he has the chance to cement his legacy.
Watch Bournemouth vs Fulham from 6.30pm on Monday Night Football, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 8pm
