Fulham player ratings vs West Ham as Claudio Ranieri is left looking for a ‘miracle’ to keep them up

Tough night at the office | Fulham lost 3-1 away to West Ham
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Jack Rosser @JackRosser_22 February 2019

Claudio Ranieri had one last roll of the dice to spark Fulham’s Premier League revival, and it collapsed remarkably in front of his eyes at West Ham .

Before Friday night, Tom Cairney and Ryan Sessegnon had, between them, started just 14 times in the Premier League under Ranieri.

There was hope, then, among the travelling support that the Italian was turning to the tried and tested favourites who got Fulham to the Premier League in order to keep them here.

As well as looking to the more established figures a Fulham, Ranieri also turned to a system he knew well - sending the visitors out in the 4-4-2 system he used to win the title with Leicester City.

That experiment, in the case of Sessegnon - who picked up an assist after just three minutes - lasted only until half time.

In Pictures | West Ham vs Fulham | 22/02/2019

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The main thing Ranieri had on his side in those days, however, was confidence. Something in starkly short supply within this Fulham squad. The visitors were more than hard done by when Javier Hernandez’s goal was allowed despite the handball which helped it beyond Sergio Rico, but the reaction was more than telling. Never has a side looked so knocked down by an equaliser than those in white at London Stadium on Friday, jolting from a team in control and looking confident on the ball to one with no grasp on the game whatsoever.

Fulham Player Ratings

vs West Ham...


Fulham (4-4-2) Rico 4, Odoi 5, Ream 6, Nordtveit 5, Bryan 5, Chambers 6, Seri 5, Cairney 7, Sessegnon 6, Babel 6, Mitrovic 5

Substitutes: Markovic 5, Anguissa 5

“The level of confidence increases when you win and now that’s a long time ago,” Ranieri told Standard Sport. “For me it’s important. They train well and this means they believe.

“It’ll be a miracle, but we must fight together If you fight you have one chance, if you don’t you can’t.

“It is tough but we must believe. We must continue to fight I know it’s difficult, but we have to flight.”

Having made the changes to the starting XI, two more tweaks swiftly followed at the break, intended to add some much needed life to a performance which fallen dangerously limp following the leveller. They, too, failed to pay off with the hosts comfortably in control for the entirety of the second half, West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini confident enough with the 1-0 lead to hand Manuel Lanzini his first minutes of the season following an ACL injury with all but Cairney seemingly resigned to their fate.

Pos Team P W D L GD Pts
13 Crystal Palace 26 7 6 13 -7 27
14 Brighton 26 7 6 13 -11 27
15 Burnley 26 7 6 13 -18 27
16 Newcastle 26 6 7 13 -12 25
17 Cardiff City 27 7 4 16 -27 25
18 Southampton 26 5 9 12 -16 24
19 Fulham 27 4 5 18 -35 17
20 Huddersfield 26 2 5 19 -34 11

Each and every one of Fulham’s remaining games was always going to carry great significance given their dire position in the table, but having passed up three vital points from a winning position, Wednesday’s visit to Southampton now brings with it a level of pressure Ranieri and his squad look utterly incapable of handling.

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