They may have greeted each other with a giant bear hug before kick‑off but Marco Silva must be sick of facing Oliver Glasner. After enduring two defeats against Crystal Palace here in the space of five weeks earlier in the year, the Fulham manager could only watch in horror as Marc Guéhi’s late header sealed another victory that moved Palace into the top four.
Glasner has made no secret of his dissatisfaction with Palace’s transfer business in the summer, having beaten Fulham on their way to winning the FA Cup, and he was without the influential Daniel Muñoz for their latest trip to west London. But the Austrian has proven during his 18 months at the helm that he has a habit of finding a way to win and this was a typically shrewd performance from his well-drilled side.
They weathered the Fulham storm after Harry Wilson’s wonder goal had cancelled out Eddie Nketiah’s opener on his first Premier League start of the campaign. It was left to Guéhi, who is likely to leave south London at the end of the season when his contract expires, to seal the victory that will have Palace’s supporters dreaming of what else might be possible under their remarkable manager if he is backed in the January transfer window.
“I have to ask if they get the bonus if we are fourth in December. I don’t think so,” joked Glasner, whose side face Shelbourne in their latest Conference League fixture on Thursday night before meeting Manchester City at Selhurst Park on Sunday. “Of course it’s nice. But for me, it felt in recent weeks that we were getting a little bit of fatigue at the end of the games due to our schedule. And today I felt it was the opposite.”
This was Palace’s 24th match of the season and their first time without Muñoz, after the Colombia defender was ruled out by a knee problem that Palace have been managing for a few weeks, Glasner revealed afterwards. But while the 34-year-old former England defender Nathaniel Clyne did not provide the same attacking threat as the marauding Colombian usually does, Silva was frustrated that his side struggled to find a way through the visitors’ defence after Wilson’s brilliant equaliser.
“These are the type of games that if you can’t win, then you can’t lose,” the Fulham manager said. “We have to be more resilient in crucial periods of the game.”
Had it not been for Guéhi’s block to deny Emile Smith Rowe from Alex Iwobi’s clever corner then Fulham would have taken an early lead. But Palace stood firm against the early pressure and they began to pick holes in the home defence. The imperious Adam Wharton was the architect of the opening goal when he picked out Tyrick Mitchell on the left before the England midfielder eventually played in Nketiah, whose crisp finish left Bernd Leno flailing at thin air.
The Croydon-born Smith Rowe, who was wanted by Palace last year but joined Fulham instead from Arsenal, could not believe his eyes when Dean Henderson somehow kept out his rasping drive from Sander Berge’s through ball. Fulham continued to look dangerous, although Clyne had the next big chance when he found himself bearing down on goal but could produce only an air shot.
There was no doubting the quality of Fulham’s equaliser. Wilson, who scored another goal of the season contender against Tottenham last weekend, and Raúl Jiménez were on exactly the same wavelength when the Wales forward beat Maxence Lacroix to the ball. They played a one-two on the edge of Palace’s box before Wilson unleashed a sumptuous finish using the outside of his left boot.
In a television interview at half‑time Glasner called on his side to create more chances, but Jean‑Philippe Mateta wasted a decent opening two minutes after the restart. Fulham thought they had taken the lead through Smith Rowe after Calvin Bassey had struck a post with a header, only for celebrations to be cut short when Samuel Chukwueze was found to have been offside in the buildup. “He has to be careful because even a fingernail can be offside these days,” Silva said.
It was a rare occasion when they managed to penetrate Palace’s defence. For all their pretty buildup play, Fulham are lacking incisiveness this season, and Silva will be concerned that could end up with them being dragged into a relegation battle.
Concerns over Palace’s heavy workload in a December that will feature eight matches prompted Glasner to withdraw Mateta midway though the second half. Silva threw on Kevin, the club‑record signing, in the hope of finding the breakthrough. But it was Palace who took all three points when Guéhi beat Kenny Tete to a near-post corner and celebrated with the away fans behind the goal.
“I can’t lie, it’s tough,” the England defender said when he was asked about Palace’s hectic schedule. “We’ve got to recover and go again – we’ve got no choice.”
