Brighton 1-1 Fulham: Evan Ferguson’s fifth goal of the season is cancelled out by Joao Palhinha’s equaliser as Cottagers come away from the South Coast with a point
Even managers who seem to walk on water get swamped from time to time. This seems to be one of those periods for Roberto de Zerbi.
It would be very premature to talk about difficulties at Brighton, especially in the immediate aftermath of a win over Ajax, but it’s getting a bit tricky and a bit sticky.
With no Premier League wins in the last four games, it is the longest run since the first five games of De Zerbi’s tenure.
Granted, a spell with Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa was never going to be easy, but not many teams have been better than Brighton in the fourteen months since De Zerbi’s arrival, so it’s a measure of progress that anything less than a sprint can feel like a crawl.
In this case it sounded somewhat like a bad day, which was strange considering how they dominated the first half.
Evan Ferguson slotted home to put his side ahead in the match with Fulham at the AMEX Stadium
Joao Palhinha leveled the score for Fulham in the 65th minute, erasing Brighton’s 1-0 lead
Ferguson, 21, has been in star form for the seaside club, scoring five times so far this season
They had put Evan Ferguson’s fifth goal of the season ahead and at that stage they were the usual carousel of movement and quality, with Kaoru Mitoma tearing calves on the left and Simon Adingra breaking hearts on the right.
But if there is a vulnerability with this side it is that they offer too few guarantees in defense and as in every other league assignment this season they have failed to keep a clean sheet.
Joao Palhinha deserves a lot of credit for the equalizer, and so does Marco Silva for the substitutions that revived a midfield battle that Fulham had seemingly lost, but the origin of the attack was Brighton’s overreach at the back. Neither Jason Steele nor Pascal Gross will think fondly of the turnover that opened that particular door.
If that’s the bane of an attractive team then so be it, but a draw will always look avoidable if it’s rooted in those mistakes.
From De Zerbi’s perspective, the only source of sadness he expressed was the result, although there were also traces of annoyance at the way Fulham were able to escape punishment for wasting time in the second half. An honest assessment.
“I’m really frustrated and disappointed with the outcome,” he said.
“But we can focus on the performance and the performance was great.”
About the referee, Michael Salisbury, De Zerbi said at the same time little and enough, adding: ‘It’s not my job, the referee’s job.
“The referee is not at his best, but I just want to talk about football.”
For Marco Silva, there was greater satisfaction with the outcome.
Palhinha scored five times for Fulham and ensured Cottagers took a point back to London
Kaoru Mitoma was close to the opening goal for the Seagulls, but narrowly missed the goal
Fulham boss Marco Silva had a friendly hug with Roberto de Zerbi at the Amex Stadium
Brighton are currently seventh in the table and are enjoying European football for the first time ever
His Fulham side had to watch as Brighton, with a back three and a wall across midfield, played those first 45 minutes with 72 percent possession.
In that period it was Fulham’s good fortune that the home side scored just once, following a loose ball forward from Harrison Reed, which led to a quick counter from Gross and culminated in a high-quality finish from Ferguson.
“In the first half we were not at the level we need to compete,” Silva said. ‘We weren’t sharp enough. We took steps forward in the second half.’
They did so, most obviously after the delay of Lewis Dunk’s free-kick against the crossbar. That led to three substitutions and gradually the balance of the match shifted, largely thanks to the energy of Harry Wilson.
The equalizer was evidence of the improvements after the break in Fulham’s pressing play, with Steele getting a dubious pass to Gross. He coughed up possession to Alex Iwobi before Wilson played in Andreas Palhinha. He touched the edge of the area and drilled into the top corner. A nice goal for Fulham and a small bump for Brighton.