Fulham manager Marco Silva, speaking to BBC Match of the Day about Fulham's fitness problems: “That’s the easiest excuse, but we started with 11. As a whole, we should have done much better, and if you don’t do the basics well you’re not going to be able to compete.
"You have to go through these type of difficult spells in a football match, but the other things have to be there – the basic way to defend and defend your box. We have to be much stronger in the way we defended. We were not at that level this afternoon.
"I can't mention one part of the first half because they started on the front foot. We wanted to be a bit more aggressive in our press and match their intensity. It was not possible. Overall in the first-half, we were not at our level.
"Of course, we're going to be stronger if we have all players available. Unfortunately for us, we're losing decisive players at a key time of the season."
Did you know?
- Fulham have lost five of their last eight Premier League away games (W1 D2) and have failed to score in four consecutive matches on the road in the competition for the first time since a run of seven between January and April 2010.
- The Cottagers have lost their first away London derby in the Premier League since August 2025, with today's defeat ending a run of four London derbies unbeaten on the road (W2 D2), whilst today was the first time they lost an away match in London by 3+ goals since January 2019 – also against Arsenal (1-4).
