All eyes had been on Fulham ever since Claudio Ranieri replaced Slavisa Jokanovic over the international break – and his first match in charge lived up to the occasion.
Fantasy managers had been interested to see what kind of effect the former Leicester City man would have at his new club.
We’ve gone over the Cottagers’ 3-2 win over Southampton with a fine-tooth comb to pull out some key talking points in this latest Scout Notes article.
Fulham 3-2 Southampton
Goals: Aleksandar Mitrovic x2 (£6.6m), Andre Schürrle (£5.9m) | Stuart Armstrong (£5.1m)
Assists: Ryan Sessegnon x2 (£6.0m), Maxime Le Marchand (£4.2m) | Cédric Soares (£4.4m)
Claudio Ranieri appears to have had an instant impact on Fulham by orchestrating a win in his first match in charge. The result was made all the more impressive by the fact that he only made one change from the side that was beaten 2-0 by Liverpool before the international break. The Cottagers had looked lost for some time under Slavisa Jokanovic, the 1-0 defeat to Huddersfield in Gameweek 11 representing rock bottom for them.
The only alteration Ranieri made was to put central midfielder Jean Michael Seri (£5.3m) back in to replace the injured André-Franck Zambo Anguissa. In fact, he even persisted with using defender Calum Chambers (£4.2m) in midfield.
The most important thing for Fantasy managers was the fact that Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.6m) netted a brace, the second of his two goals proving the winner. It was the first time he had scored since Gameweek 6, resulting from a superior shot count compared to his recent form. Between Gameweeks 7 and 12, Mitrovic averaged 2.33 goal attempts per game; against Southampton, he chalked up four and had more in the penalty box than any other player at Craven Cottage. His Gameweek score of 13 was his best since Gameweek 3 when he registered 16 in a 4-2 win over Burnley.
Many had been quietly hoping that Mitrovic and his colleagues might be invigorated by Ranieri’s appointment and present some value going forward. However, the general consensus had been to hold off in order to wait and see. The Serbian’s instant return to form will force his way back into the forward conversation. He is, obviously, very much a talismanic player for Fulham.
“For me, Mitrovic is one of the best strikers in Europe. When I say in Europe, I say all the world. He’s only 24 years old, he’s a fantastic player and is important to give the ball to him because he can play as a platform but also as a goalscorer when the ball arrives in the box, always there is a goal or very close. That is important to give him a lot of chance to score.” – Claudio Ranieri
There were also impressive scores from Ryan Sessegnon (£6.0m) and Andre Schürrle (£5.9m) who were the chosen options on the flanks of attacking midfield. The Englishman provided two assists, both of his chances created in the match converted. In a show of how the potential on offer from the front three, Mitrovic, Sessegnon and Schürrle each fashioned two opportunities across the 90 minutes, more than any other Fulham player.
However, it is probably sensible to remember that Ranieri’s charges were fortunate to face Southampton in their first match under his guidance. Going into Gameweek 13, they had conceded 13 goals on the road this season, at an average of 2.17 per game. Also, only four teams have conceded more big chances away from home than the Saints this season. Fulham have trips to Chelsea and Manchester United coming up in the next four Gameweeks.
Tom Cairney (£4.8m) played in a more advanced role than usual, for which he was praised by the local press. Typically this season, he has operated as a deeper midfielder screening the back-four, but Ranieri used him as the number 10 after Jokanovic played him there against Liverpool. This tweak to the system seems to be the main difference from the 4-3-3 formation used previously, now that 4-2-3-1 appears to be in use.
“(Cairney) is a fantastic player and a free man, his left foot is amazing and he can do everything. With him, I want to score goals as he did in the Championship because he is a goalscorer. He has to assist or shoot at goal I said before the match and I am very pleased, well done.” – Claudio Ranieri
Fulham showed tremendous spirit to keep coming back from behind to win the game. This sort of desire may become a hallmark of the Cottagers under Ranieri, who specialises in motivation.
“Yes, fantastic character. I ask just this, never never give up, work hard until the end, at the end we will see the result and after the first goal I wanted to see our reaction and it was amazing – 1-0, 2-1. At the start of the second half there was the 2-2 and again we wanted to score a goal.” – Claudio Ranieri
Fulham certainly needed something extra to get them over the line because Southampton largely dominated the fixture. The visitors had more shots (19 to 10), more in the box (10 to eight) and more on target (eight to five). That is quite impressive for an away side, but Fulham did enough to hold off Southampton’s onslaught. Only one defender recorded more blocks in Gameweek 13 than Alfie Mawson (£4.9m), while only one registered more recoveries than Chambers. The Arsenal loanee was also a threat from set pieces with more attempts from such situations than any other player in the match. Furthermore, no goalkeeper made more saves this weekend than Sergio Rico (£4.4m), who has now started the last four matches in a row.
“The story of the game is them taking their chances. Our conversion rate is way below that so that’s the difference on the day. As an away side, we’ve had 19 shots and had 60% to their 40% possession but those stats mean nothing as the only one that counts is the scoreline and that’s gone against us.” – Mark Hughes
However, problems do still remain at the back for Fulham and Ranieri still has work to do in that department. Coming into Gameweek 13, Southampton were averaging just 0.66 goals per away match this season but still left Craven Cottage having scored twice. The Saints’ 19 efforts in the game was above their average of 14.5 per match in the previous 12 Gameweeks and they nearly doubled their shots on target average for that period too (4.42 per game).
“Yes, yes (when asked if this was a big job defensively). All the team must maintain the right position, it’s very important. In this case, they run less and they are always in good position, and for the opponent, it’s more difficult.” – Claudio Ranieri
Stuart Armstrong‘s (£5.1m) was the stand-out performer for Southampton as he scored his first goals since signing for the club. He reportedly made a huge difference in his first start of the campaign in Gameweek 12 too and he finally converted that in FPL points on Saturday with a score of 14 points. Operating as the number 10 for the Saints, only one player registered more completed passes in the final third at Craven Cottage than Armstrong. On top of that, he had three shots on goal; of his team-mates, only Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (£4.5m) recorded more. He is certainly one to watch, although Southampton have some rotten upcoming fixtures. Between now and Gameweek 17 they face Manchester United (home), Tottenham (away) and Arsenal (home). Any concerns about an injury to Armstrong were addressed by Mark Hughes, but his ongoing problem with cramp may curtail his involvement.
“I felt Stuart Armstrong was excellent today and it was a shame he had to come off late on because of cramp again, which we need to get to the bottom of.” – Mark Hughes
Danny Ings (£5.4m) missed out, as expected, after he reportedly failed a late fitness test. That led to a first start since Gameweek 10 for Charlie Austin (£5.5m), although he was replaced by Mohamed Elyounoussi (£6.2m) in the 67th minute.
Fellow substitute Michael Obafemi (£5.0m) has looked hugely exciting in his limited pitch-time so far. The 18-year-old forward was just one shy of Mitrovic’s shots in the box tally for the entire game despite playing just nine minutes. That has taken his total minutes for the season to 27 across three matches. While the sample size small, Obafemi now has the best minutes per shot in the box ratio of any player in the league.
With Ryan Bertrand (£4.8m) serving a one-match suspension, Matt Targett (£4.2m) deputised at left-back. The former Chelsea man may return to the side in Gameweek 14, although it could be sooner than that. Southampton have midweek League Cup commitments as they travel to Leicester on Tuesday night, the original tie postponed following the tragic passing of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
Fulham XI (4-2-3-1): Rico; Le Marchand, Mawson, Odoi, Christie; Seri (Johansen 68′), Chambers, R Sessegnon, Cairney, Schürrle (Kamara 74′); Mitrovic (Ayité 86′).
Southampton XI (4-2-3-1): McCarthy; Targett, Hoedt, Yoshida, Cedric; Højbjerg, Lemina; Redmond, Armstrong (Obafemi 81′), Gabbiadini; Austin (Elyounoussi 68′).
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