Paul Merson apologies to Bernd Leno on-air after what happened in Fulham vs Brighton: ‘Sorry…’
Bernd Leno was on the receiving end of some harsh words during Fulham’s clash with Brighton at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Fulham fell to 12th in the Premier League with defeat to Leeds United last time out, with Marco Silva‘s side in desperate need of a win against the Seagulls on 24 January.
However, Fabian Hurzeler has been impressing at Brighton, and it was his side who took first blood in West London, with Yasin Ayari firing home his third goal of the campaign from long range.
After picking up the ball from Olivier Boscagli, the Sweden international took a chance from just inside the penalty area, but his effort was only really helped in by the Fulham goalkeeper.
Samuel Chukwueze and Harry Wilson helped the Cottagers to complete the turnaround, but they had to do it the hard way after seeing Ayari’s goal fire past Leno.
Paul Merson points finger of blame at Bernd Leno for Brighton opener
Struggling to get enough of a purchase on the ball, Leno had gone down far too early, with Paul Merson pointing the finger of blame at one of Silva’s most experienced players.
Speaking live on Sky Sports (24 January, 3:28pm), Merson said: “Ayari has scored the goal, and it’s a brilliant, brilliant strike. He gets the ball, takes it on his right foot, plays a little one-two, and runs in at an angle.
“He hits it, and it flies. For me, I think the goalie has got to save it. I think he goes down too early. But I can’t take anything away from the strike. Yeah, for me, the goalkeeper’s got to save that, sorry.”
The 33-year-old is normally so dependable, but with an xG of just 0.05 on Ayari’s strike [FotMob], it should have been a shot that the German dealt with. Sadly, he saw it fly past him for the opener.
Does Marco Silva have a new transfer priority at Fulham?
Fulham have been warned over Silva leaving for a bigger Premier League team, and the manager is often left frustrated by the lack of activity in transfer windows at Craven Cottage.
While Leno has been a Premier League regular since 2018, even winning nine caps for the German national team, it might be worth considering signing his successor in the next couple of windows.
Benjamin Lecomte arrived during the summer, but with the Frenchman even older than the Cottagers’ No.1, it would not hurt to start searching the market for a decent replacement.
Man City‘s James Trafford might be an ideal target, given Gianluigi Donnarumma‘s rise to fame at the Etihad Stadium, but the club are unlikely to overthink one mistake from the experienced shot-stopper.
Bringing in a youngster who can learn from him, however, would be a very smart call by the West London side.