Fulham Analysis

In Attack

Fulham relief upon a trio attackers to create breakdowns: Mitrovic, Cairney, and Sessegnon. Behind them was a distinct midfield band, comprising of the full backs, midfielders, and the right midfielder Aite.

Fulham dominated possession, owning 68% of touches on the ball. They were able to produce 16 shots, though half were from long range and none were from the inside the 6-yard box.

While the bulk of their shots came from the middle (75%), they did not utilize him as a target man. Rather, a patient, slow buildup through the middle, funnelled through Tom Cairney or Ryan Sessegnon, is where shots were produced.

In Defence

Fulham rarely had a clearly-defined shape when out of possession. They would immediately launch into a “high press” – meaning that they were closing down Newcastle centre backs within moments of receiving the ball. However, the press wasn’t quite effective, in that Fulham’s PPDA was 13.3, which is a bit below league average.

If the high press was broken, Fulham’s shape would settle into a 4-5-1. As Newcastle was primarily trying to counter-attack, these moments were few and far between.

Curiously, for as many shots on target as Newcastle had, Fulham’s clearances & tackles totals were quite low (1 and 2, total). This would suggest that Marchand & Mawson perhaps struggled in snuffing out attacking exploits, as their combined defensive productivity lacked.