Fulham comfortably brushed aside Leicester City with a 2-0 victory at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon, condemning the Foxes to a miserable seventh consecutive Premier League defeat.
The result leaves Ruud van Nistelrooy's side 19th in the table with just 14 points, two adrift of safety, while Fulham climb into ninth and now trail the top five by only four points.
Neither side were able to break the deadlock in the opening 45 minutes, but, despite an abundance of first-half attempts for Fulham, taking nine shots to Leicester's four, it was the hosts who had the greater chances to open the scoring as Jordan Ayew and Victor Kristiansen both squandered fantastic opportunities.
After failing to test the goalkeeper in the first half, it took Fulham just three minutes from the second half restart to beat Jakub Stolarczyk, with Emile Smith Rowe scoring a brilliant diving header following a superb piece of build-up play from the visitors.
Fulham compounded Leicester's woes with a similar move just 20 minutes later, as a swift attack resulted in a back-post cross being finished with real composure by Adama Traore, marking the final goal of the match to extend Leicester's miserable run to seven consecutive Premier League defeats.
SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT
Another bleak performance and afternoon for Leicester, as the defeat marks the worst losing run of any side in the league this season, with seven consecutive Premier League losses.
The pressure appears to be mounting on Van Nistelrooy, as his starting 11 was met with discontent, and boos, along with ironic cheers, could be heard during substitutions and after Fulham's goals, reflecting the sorry state the Foxes find themselves in.
As for Fulham, a slow start hinted at a repeat of their mistake-ridden outing against West Ham United, but they quickly found their rhythm and dominated the rest of the match, particularly the second half.
Marco Silva will be delighted with their strong defensive showing, as well as a number of majestic performances from the likes of Antonee Robinson, Harry Wilson, Smith Rowe and several others.
After the setback of defeat last time out, the manager will now be aiming for Fulham to put together another unbeaten run and continue their charge for a spot in the European places.
LEICESTER VS. FULHAM HIGHLIGHTS
48th min: Leicester 0-1 Fulham (Emile Smith Rowe)
© Imago
Fulham finally have the lead, Smith Rowe nods them in front!
Raul Jimenez picks the ball up on the left wing and delivers a curled cross to the back post, where Wilson's initial touch forces him to loop a cross over his head and back into the box.
Sasa Lukic gets in front of his man and looks set to score, but his header is skewed across the box, where Smith Rowe follows in and dives to head it into the back of the net.
68th min: Leicester 0-2 Fulham (Adama Traore)
© Imago
Fulham double their lead, composed finish from Traore!
Lukic charges through the middle of the park and lays the ball off to Smith Rowe on the edge of the area, and the midfielder passes out wide to Wilson on the left side.
Wilson clips a cross towards the back post, where Traore is unmarked and wonderfully walks onto the ball and side foots his effort into the bottom left corner.
MAN OF THE MATCH - HARRY WILSON
© Imago
After starting the season largely being utilised as an impact substitute, Wilson has battled to regain his spot in the starting 11 in recent weeks, and he has certainly shown why Silva has reinstated him with an outstanding performance today.
The attacking midfielder played a major role in both of Fulham's goals, providing the delivery for Lukic to square to Smith Rowe to make it 1-0, while his cross found Traore at the back post for the second goal of the game.
Wilson was simply at his creative best throughout the 90 minutes, recording a remarkable eight key passes and making two big chances, while also chipping in on the defensive side with three duels won and one tackle.
LEICESTER VS. FULHAM MATCH STATS
Possession: Leicester 38%-62% Fulham
Shots: Leicester 8-17 Fulham
Shots on target: Leicester 4-2 Fulham
Corners: Leicester 5-2 Fulham
Fouls: Leicester 8-8 Fulham
BEST STATS
Antonee Robinson won more duels than any other Fulham player in the first half vs. Leicester (6).
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) January 18, 2025
And he won 100% of them. 💯 pic.twitter.com/l4TjxYbvwb
Emile Smith Rowe:
— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) January 18, 2025
4 — Goals for Fulham this season
3 — Starts for Arsenal in previous two seasons pic.twitter.com/qjiZYUS3Rn
WHAT NEXT?
Leicester City will now prepare for a challenging stretch of away games, visiting Tottenham Hotspur and Everton in the league before taking on Manchester United in the FA Cup fourth round.
As for Fulham, they will briefly return to Craven Cottage to host Man United on Sunday evening, before taking on Newcastle United and Wigan Athletic on the road.
Ellis Stevens
