‘Ronaldinho is at Fulham’ – Andreas Pereira and Calvin Bassey respond to teammate
Fulham produced one of their best displays of the season to beat Premier League champions-elect Liverpool on Sunday.
Marco Silva’s side continued their push for the European places with a 3-2 victory over the runaway leaders, moving up to eighth in the table and preventing Liverpool from going 14 points clear the summit.
A 14-minute burst midway through the first half saw the Cottagers score three times after Liverpool had taken the lead through Mac Allister; just reward for Fulham after they were denied a clear early penalty.
Ryan Sessegnon soon got Fulham back on terms with a well-taken half-volley, before Alex Iwobi quickly completed the turnaround just nine minutes later and Rodrigo Muniz added a third within another five.
Luis Diaz reduced the deficit midway through the second half after Liverpool got away with another controversial incident, but Silva’s side held on to inflict a second league defeat of the season for Arne Slot.
Alex Iwobi message sent after Fulham v Liverpool display
While Sessegnon rightly earned praise for his equalising goal after a mistake from Liverpool right-back Curtis Jones, Iwobi’s performance was a cut above the rest, scoring a screamer and setting up Muniz.
Andy Robertson was arguably at fault for gifting Iwobi the possession which led to his sumptuous left-footed strike, but the Nigerian’s cross for Muniz’s sublime touch and finish was another stellar moment.
| Player | Appearances | Starts | Goals | Assists | Yellow Cards |
| Alexi Iwobi | 37 | 32 | 8 | 5 | 1 |
At full time, Iwobi took to Instagram (6 April) with a series of images showing his finish for Fulham’s second goal, as well as celebrations with both Andreas Pereira and Calvin Bassey.
Below the post, Bassey said; “hop out the motor” in reference to their goal celebration, while Pereira went a step further, calling Iwobi: “Ronaldinho from Nigeria”.
Fulham firing as Champions League push continues
While the stellar campaigns of Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, Brighton and Bournemouth have made ample headlines this season, Fulham’s quiet rise up the Premier League table has gone under the radar.
Silva has become one of the league’s most in-demand managers with Tottenham now circling, but with Fulham four points off fifth place – the last expected Champions League spot – he’s likely to stay put.
It remains to be seen if Fulham can stay the course and gatecrash the top five, but with any European place now achievable, the likes of Iwobi will be needed to emulate Ronaldinho for the rest of the season.