Fulham started the month off away to Brighton and when Mitrović got our second, it was reminiscent of a performance from last season, but we saw our defensive fragilities creep in and in the end were lucky to escape from the Amex with a point. An international break gave us a week to prepare for a trip to the champions, Manchester City, who hadn’t lost to a newly-promoted team at home since 2007 and there was little chance of that being changed by Fulham after a second-minute goal by Sane, followed by Silva and Sterling, left us heading back home with our tail between our legs.
On the 22nd we entertained Watford, they’d enjoyed one of their best starts to a top-flight campaign ever despite losing to Manchester United in the previous match and they were always going to be a difficult proposition, especially after a slow start gifted them a second-minute lead. Almost identical to the Manchester City game, we were being dominated and in return, we were creating very little. Slaviša decided to change things up at halftime and replaced Mawson and McDonald with Odoi and Ayité. A much more rigid and assured second-half performance was rewarded when Mitrović turned the ball in from a few yards out and the game was almost won in the closing minutes when he planted a header against the crossbar but a draw can probably be seen as s fair result.
After such a positive second half, a trip to Millwall in midweek didn’t seem so daunting. Slaviša made 10 changes for the game and the clear gulf in quality showed. Despite Millwall making a go of it in the second half, Fulham still ran out 3-1 winners, a result which was overshadowed by the debut of 15-year-old Harvey Elliot, a potentially world-class player who is wanted by the best from Barcelona to Liverpool to PSG. Hopefully, on his 16th birthday, Fulham can tie him down to a long-term deal.F
The final game of September saw us travel to Everton, who before the game had beaten us 21 times straight at Goodison Park, the longest such run in all of the premier league. A fairly solid first-half gave fans hope that it could be the day that the record changed, unfortunately it wasn’t to be, a second-half capitulation saw Everton run out 3-0 winners despite missing a penalty, and to add insult to injury, Fosu-Mensa was substituted after landing awkwardly on his shoulder and could be out for up to a month.
Games like Manchester City and Everton away luckily aren’t the games that define a premier league season. These teams have been settled and are playing at ridiculously high levels of quality whereas we have only had since the evening of 28th May to prepare for this season with a World Cup in between. Results will undoubtedly improve and I’m sure as the season goes on we can make it difficult for teams like Everton to walk all over us.
Results
01/09/18 – Brighton 2-2 Fulham
15/09/18 – Man City 3-0 Fulham
22/09/18 – Fulham 1-1 Watford
25/09/18 – Millwall 1-3 Fulham (EFL Cup)
29/09/18 – Everton 3-0 Fulham
Player of the Month
Mitrović – This is probably going to be one of the hardest months to pick a standout performer from, and not for a good reason. We’ve had a tough month and we’ve struggled against all the teams we’ve played in one way or another with possibly the exception of Millwall. I’m going to go for Mitrović as my player of the month for getting himself a couple of goals and getting Fulham a couple of points.
Top Fulham Player Stats (Premier League)
Minutes Played
| M. Bettinelli | 360 |
| A. Mitrović | 360 |
| A. Schürrle | 356 |
| J. Seri | 318 |
| D. Odoi | 315 |
Most Touches
| J. Seri | 270 |
| D. Odoi | 231 |
| A. Anguissa | 190 |
| R. Sessegnon | 181 |
| A. Mitrović | 179 |
Most Passes
| J. Seri | 221 |
| D. Odoi | 178 |
| A. Anguissa | 152 |
| K. McDonald | 143 |
| T. Fosu-Mensah | 127 |
Key Passes
| A. Schürrle | 9 |
| J. Seri | 8 |
| L. Vietto | 5 |
| R. Sessegnon | 3 |
| T. Fosu-Mensah | 3 |
Most Dribbles
| A. Anguissa | 4 |
| L. Vietto | 4 |
| A. Mitrović | 3 |
| R. Sessegnon | 3 |
| A. Schürrle | 3 |
| C. Christie | 3 |
Most Shots
| A. Mitrović | 16 |
| A. Schürrle | 11 |
| L. Vietto | 4 |
| F. Ayité | 2 |
| A. Anguissa | 2 |
| R. Sessegnon | 2 |
Most Shots On Target
| A. Mitrović | 5 |
| A. Schürrle | 3 |
| L. Vietto | 1 |
| J. Seri | 1 |
| R. Sessegnon | 1 |
Most Interceptions
| T. Ream | 7 |
| C. Chambers | 5 |
| A. Anguissa | 5 |
| A. Mawson | 5 |
| K. McDonald | 4 |
| D. Odoi | 4 |
| C. Christie | 4 |
Aerial Battles Won
| A. Mitrović | 24 |
| C. Christie | 7 |
| A. Anguissa | 6 |
| C. Chambers | 6 |
| D. Odoi | 5 |
Fouls Conceded
| C. Christie | 4 |
| A. Mitrović | 4 |
| C. Chambers | 4 |
| D. Odoi | 4 |
| K. McDonald | 3 |
| M. Le Marchand | 3 |
| J. Seri | 3 |
| A. Anguissa | 3 |
| T. Fosu-Mensah | 3 |
| S. Johansen | 3 |
Fouls Won
| L. Vietto | 7 |
| A. Schürrle | 6 |
| A. Mitrović | 5 |
| D. Odoi | 5 |
| R. Sessegnon | 4 |
FPL Highest Scorer (% of FPL Selections)
| A. Mitrović | 16 (27.6%) |
| M. Bettinelli | 15 (0.6%) |
| J. Seri | 14 (3.7%) |
| A. Schürrle | 13 (4.7%) |
| L. Vietto | 13 (0.8%) |
Rating
5/10 – a couple of big losses and a lack of points would normally mean a score lower than 5/10, but the desire shown to fight back against Watford is exactly what this team is made of and as they grow together the points will come.
October Predictions
07/10/18 – Fulham 1-3 Arsenal (12 pm)
20/10/18 – Cardiff 1-2 Fulham
27/10/18 – Fulham 2-2 Bournemouth
TBC – Manchester City 4-0 Fulham (EFL Cup)
Stats were sourced using whoscored.com.
