Manor Solomon scored for the third game on the spin to help Fulham produce one of the close football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. Half-time replacement Solomon, who scored the goal in Fulham’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest earlier this month, raced through from the left and blasted a magnificent strike into the far corner just after the hour mark to extend his side’s current unbeaten league run to four matches. Wolves had taken a merited lead at the interval because of Pablo Sarabia’s first goal (23) since joining Paris Saint-Germain, but neither side could turn one point into three as Jose Sa’s stunning save denied Carlos Vinicius’ header in stoppage time.
Fulham remains in sixth place ahead of the weekend’s Premier League fixtures, while Wolves remain in 15th place, four points above the relegation zone. A victory would have given Fulham 41 points, the most by a promoted side after 25 games of a 38-game Premier League season. Since the Premier League began following the World Cup, only the two Manchester teams have gained more points than Fulham’s 19.
With each passing week, the new and improved Riverside Stand sees an increase in attendance. Residents may be thinking of a European excursion by the time the trees in adjacent Bishops Park are in full bloom, but they were second best during the opening period. Sarabia had already fired a warning shot on 20 minutes, latching onto Nelson Semedo’s pull-back, but the January signing’s attempt lacked conviction and was easily collected by Bernd Leno.
Wolves haven’t had their passports stamped since losing in the Europa League quarter-finals to Sevilla in August 2020, but they face a drastically different challenge this season. Sarabia shot their chances of survival in the arm just three minutes later, breaking the tie. The 30-year-old Spaniard, signed from Paris Saint-Germain for £4.4m, began and finished the move by feeding Matheus Nunes on the left channel before running into the Fulham box. Raul Jimenez cushioned Nunes’ center, allowing Sarabia to calm himself and stab a low shot past Tim Ream’s legs and into the bottom corner beyond Leno’s grasp.
According to Silva, his team wasn’t at its best during a smash-and-grab raid at Brighton last weekend, but Fulham came into this game off the back of three clean sheets, stoking expectations of European qualifying for the first time since 2009/10. Yet, having won just two of their nine games this season when conceding first – the 3-2 victory at Nottingham Forest and the same scoreline at Leeds – Sa was put into action late in the first period, save Vinicius’ header from Bobby Decordova-cross. Reid’s Ruben Neves was off target when given with a similar opportunity moments later.
Silva made a double substitution at halftime, bringing in Solomon and Sasa Lukic in place of Decordova-Reid and Harrison Reed, who had been nursing an ankle injury since the opening exchanges. Wolves, however, continued to dominate, with Max Kilman’s header drifting just past before Jimenez glanced Sarabia’s cross just wide. After two Wolves players went down in rapid succession, Fulham was enraged, believing their opponents were wasting time. Cunha was knocked down by Antonee Robinson’s challenge, and the hosts equalized four minutes later.
When Solomon grabbed the ball off Robinson, there appeared to be little on, but after being sent inside by Semedo, the Israeli needed no second invitation to curl a magnificent 20-yard shot low beyond Sa. Fulham sensed a comeback as Wolves retreated, and if not for Sa’s sprawling save in late time to deny Vinicius from Kenny Tete’s cross, it would have been another smash-and-grab for Silva’s side.
Fulham’s focus now shifts to the FA Cup, with a home encounter against Leeds scheduled for Tuesday at 7.45 p.m. Marco Silva’s side then plays Brentford in the Premier League on Monday, March 6, with kick-off at 8 p.m. Wolves will now travel to Anfield to face Liverpool for the fourth time this season; kick-off is at 8 p.m. Julen Lopetegui’s team will then play Tottenham on Saturday, March 4 at 3 p.m.
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