Marco Silva makes honest Fulham admission as he names reason for Everton comeback win

Marco Silva blamed his own Fulham team for allowing Everton to seize a valuable three points

Marco Silva said his Fulham side only had themselves to blame for the defeat to Everton. The former Blues boss, clearly disappointed with having lost after taking an early lead through Raul Jimenez’s back-post header, believed the hosts had the match under control for most of the first half.

Silva cited a breakdown in communication – one that allowed Carlos Alcaraz to win the corner that led to Vitalii Mykolenko’s leveller – as a turning point and lamented the Cottagers’ failure to deal with set-pieces.

Second half goals from Michael Keane, who headed in from a corner, and Beto took the game away from Fulham, whose hopes of European qualification took a major blow as a result of the 3-1 loss.

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Silva said: “I think the game was completely under control. Because of that we have to blame ourselves.

“They had their chance because of a lack of communication between two players on the right hand side and Alcaraz had a chance and after the second half we gave them what we needed with the way we conceded the goals.

“The second goal is more or less the same story because from a throw-in they won a corner and it came from a set-piece.

“The last three or four games we have been punished for most of these moments and it is really tough for us to take because we have to blame ourselves.

“It was our fault.”

Asked by the ECHO whether facing Everton was a different prospect under David Moyes to earlier in the campaign, when Fulham dominated Sean Dyche’s side and were only denied a win by Beto’s stoppage-time goal, Silva said: “The way we played for 30, 35 minutes was clear.

“We prepared the game in the best way and we kept doing the same things and we controlled.

“All the game we knew it was going to be direct, we knew their strategy very well.

“Being aggressive in the first and second duels, and doing the normal things, we knew we could have control and for 30, 35 minutes we did it.

“But that moment of the game, set-pieces, was a big part of it and we were not as good as we should have been in that moment and because of that we lost.”

FlashFocus: Antonee Robinson’s journey to becoming one of Europe’s best left-backs

To those familiar with the Buckinghamshire-born defender, much of this is clear and obvious.

Robinson has been a regular in Flashscore’s Team of the Week over the last couple of seasons, averaging a 7.3 rating so far this term with two Man of the Match performances.

Although regarded by many as the Premier League’s most consistent left-back, surpassing even Liverpool’s Andy Robertson, the rise of ‘Jedi’ hasn’t been overnight.

Robinson’s breakthrough came after leaving Wigan for Fulham ahead of the 2020/21 season. Despite initial relegation, he helped the club bounce back and has since become a key figure in the side.

He was Fulham’s 2023/24 player of the season and his impressive performances have continued into the current campaign – if anything, they’ve improved as his game has grown.

A product of Everton

Robinson’s career began with Everton, over 200 miles north of London, which has left distinct traces on his accent to those with a keen ear.

From the age of 11 until just before his 22nd birthday, he would have been dreaming about playing for the Toffees’ first team.

Injuries prevented Robinson from getting a fair chance at playing for Everton’s senior side; a particularly bad one required surgery on his knee when he was just 17.

It was heartbreaking for the then-teenager after being named Everton’s U18 Players’ Player of the Year a few months prior.

After recovering, he became a regular for the U23s and later joined Bolton on a short-term loan deal days before he turned 20.

His impressive performances earned him an extended stay until the end of the 2017/18 season, beating competition from the experienced Andrew Taylor – who had made the position his own the year before.

Wigan take a punt

Robinson’s performances for Bolton didn’t go unnoticed and Wigan picked him up from Everton on an initial loan deal.

His continued success in the Championship earned him a USA cap in May of 2018, turning down an approach from England’s U21 camp to represent the country his dad was raised in.

It became clear that Robinson was destined for greater things after another eye-catching spell in the English second tier, making a permanent move to Wigan ahead of the 2019/20 season.

Just a few months later, in the January transfer window, Italian giants AC Milan agreed a deal to sign Robinson, but it fell through after his medical revealed a heart issue (which has since been corrected).

Following Wigan’s relegation, Robinson was scooped up by Premier League club Fulham for £2 million.

Fulham reap the benefits

Robinson’s progress at Fulham was steady at first, being used in rotation with Ola Aina.

Following the club’s relegation at the end of the 2020/21 season, he played a key role in their immediate return to the Premier League and was named in the official Championship team of the season.

Watching Fulham – and Robinson – in 2022/23, it was hard to imagine they were in the second tier just a year before as the Cottagers finished in the top half of the table.

Robinson achieved an average Flashscore rating of 6.8 for that season, ranking him among the top full-backs in the Premier League.