Match Review: Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Fulham
A cold Friday night was the setting for this West London Derby day between Slaviša Jokanović’s Fulham and Ian Holloway’s Queens Park Rangers. The noise coming out from the small Loftus Road was immense and South Africa road was packed with both excitement and expectation.
A game under the floodlights is always special and both teams were raring to go, with promotion once again on the cards for Fulham, and QPR set to improve after last season’s lacklustre finish.
The game started well for the Hoops, with dynamic Midfielder Luke Freeman driving forward at speed. He managed to pass the ball to former Brentford captain, left-back Jack Bidwell, who smashed the ball at goal, beating Button. It was ultimately blocked off the line by Ryan Fredericks.
But after being pinned by the constant pressure of Fulham’s attack, most notably by Liverpool loanee Sheyi Ojo, the visitors’ well-deserved opener finally arrived after Ryan Fredericks’ strike was deflected way off course by Jack Robinson and flew into the net, with goalkeeper Alex Smithies caught wrong footed.
Despite Sheyi Ojo pressing high and causing problems to QPR defence, his game was cut short after being stretchered off the pitch following a dislocated collarbone. At one point it looked like youngster Ryan Sessengnon would follow suit after getting a elbow to the face. Luckily for the 2,987 travelling fans, it was nothing serious and the highly coveted teen continued the game.
The Hoops’ night then got worse, as Norwegian Stefan Johansen’s low finish gave the Cottagers a 2-goal advantage. But the game could have been sealed, with the referee awarding a penalty following Joel Lynch’s foul on Neeskens Kebano. Portuguese midfielder Rui Costa stepped up to take the penalty, and many think that he should not take another one ever again, as he sent the ball high and wide into the sea of Fulham supporters.
Holloway knew he had to change his team, sending on Matt Smith and Conor Washington, playing very narrow. Holloway’s substitutions seemed to pay off, with Washington netting a goal in extra time to give some hope to the Loftus Road Faithful.
A reinvigorated QPR almost scored another, with both Luke Freeman and Matt Smith getting very close before Chelsea loanee Tomas Kalas managed to clear the ball off the line, as a shaken Fulham held on to their lead.
In the dying embers of the game, goalkeeper Alex Smithies came up for the last corner of the match, swerving through the Fulham defenders. He soared up in the air and managed to head the ball towards goal, going inches wide.
Fulham sit just outside the promotion places, at 10th, while QPR continue their 5-game winless streak, sitting at a lowly 16th place.
Fulham boss Slaviša Jokanović recognised how hard the game was. After looking in control in the first half, he said,
“We had to be brave. The last few minutes it was a completely different game. A lot of things were happening in the penalty box, but we defended well.”
This is even more clear after seeing the QPR’S 25 Shots at Fulham’s goal, with 4 staying on target. Fulham proved that they have the minerals to win games. However, at times, they need to learn how to kill them off.
Despite a loss, Ian Holloway realised it was a changed and dramatically improved performance in the last 15 minutes of the game. He said,
“We kept going and we should have got a point out of that. But such is life.”
Fulham now look ahead to their next clash against Preston North End at Home while QPR look to end their winless streak, against Sunderland in an away clash.
Editor's Pick
FPL tips: Picked by just 5.8% of the managers, this £11.1m Man City star could be the ideal captain for your team
Raheem Sterling is the ideal differential captain for gameweek 9
As the Premier League returns this weekend so does the headache of selecting your Fantasy Premier League captain. A number of managers might be swayed by Harry Kane’s fixture against West Ham United or Aguero’s home game against Burnley. Eden Hazard will also be a popular option given his current form and United’s torrid start to the season.
But all of these players are highly owned assets in the game and will not provide major differential points for the managers who aim to move up the table in their respective leagues. Picking a differential captain requires courage and the ability to make the right call at the right time.
If picked well, a differential captain is also capable of outscoring the usual suspects. A countless number of times, these captains have turned up on the day when the most-captained stars fail to deliver.
Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne
Here we take a look at an ideal differential captain for gameweek 9 – Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling. The English attacker has continued his fine form under Pep Guardiola this season as well and has been explosive on the front foot.
Given that Manchester City are playing at home, Sterling is almost assured to deliver returns. The 23-year-old has delivered points in all of his home starts this season, scoring a goal at least. He has picked up double-digit hauls in 2 of his last 4 home games as well.
The English attacker also scored for his country during the international break and is in brilliant form going into this game. He is priced at £11.1million but that’s still not as high as Eden Hazard, Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero.
Though the Cityzens come up against Tottenham Hotspur next, Sterling then faces a poor Southampton side at home once again. He should deliver returns in both of these games and is a must-have option even if not as a captain. The former Liverpool winger faces Manchester United at home as well after the clash against the Saints.
Read more: Why Man City must sign this teenage midfield gem by hijacking Chelsea’s £20m move
He is still selected only by 5.8% of the managers around the world, which means Sterling is a major differential in the game right now. Those who are willing to take the risk and hand the armband to him could reap the rewards in a few days’ time.
(PS: Player values and stats are based on Fantasy Premier League)
Article
3 ways in which Manchester United can get the best out of their £14million-a-year January signing
Alexis Sanchez
Three ways Manchester United can line up with Alexis Sanchez
Manchester United pulled off quite an unbelievable coup in the January window by securing a deal for Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal. Although the Chilean star was a Manchester City target for a good majority of the summer window, rumours started linking the Red Devils with Sanchez right before the winter window commenced. Even then, it seemed like a rather far-fetched deal since City seemed quite determined to land the attacker.
However, Jose Mourinho beat Pep Guardiola to bagging the signature of Sanchez in what was a straight swap deal with Arsenal. Henrikh Mkhitaryan was the other player who switched teams. The Armenian failed to get things going at Old Trafford and the move is definitely ideal for him.
Throughout the season, United have lacked attacking intent and with Sanchez in the mix, one can only hope for things to be different, with the remaining half of the season ahead of us. United are still 2nd in the table but in order to finish in the same spot, they need to finish on a strong note. With that in mind, here are 3 ways the Red Devils can line up with £14million-a-year Sanchez in the team.
4-2-3-1 with Sanchez in a wide role
This seems like the most obvious out of all formations. With Romelu Lukaku leading the line, Alexis Sanchez and either Anthony Martial or Marcus Rashford can occupy the wide roles while Mourinho alternates between using Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata as an attacking midfielder. The rest of the team would be pretty much the same with Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic occupying deeper roles.
Although this is Mourinho’s preferred formation, he might be looking for a change after the terrible way Pogba performed in the deeper role against Tottenham. That brings us to our next option.
4-3-3 with Pogba in a central midfield trio and Sanchez on the left-wing
With Sanchez on the left, either Jesse Lingard or Juan Mata could occupy the same role on the right-hand side. Meanwhile, Pogba would be able to receive better freedom to surge forward if he played in a central midfield trio with probably Matic and Marouane Fellaini. That would boost the attacking force for sure but if needed, Mourinho could also use Ander Herrera to push for a more cautious approach. However, this would see Martial and Rashford find their opportunities extremely limited.
3-5-2 with Sanchez partnering Lukaku up front
This might be the most unorthodox and unexpected formation out of the three but it could work on very specific occasions. Mourinho has used a three-man back line quite frequently during his tenure at Old Trafford and with Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia putting in exemplary displays as wing-backs, there is no reason for him to not consider this. Also, Lukaku’s goals seem to have dried up and if he were to have a presence like Sanchez supporting him, that could remarkably improve his displays.
Everton are in a spot of bother this campaign, after selling Romelu Lukaku for a initial £75 million pounds with £15 million in add-on’s coming in the coming seasons Everton had cash to burn. And they did just that with Everton owner Farhad Moshiri granting Koeman a £150 million war chest in order for the former dutch international now turned manager to compete in Europe following their Europa League qualification.
In the transfer market the Toffees completed savvy business they seemed to spend wisely completing dual deals for English prospects Jordan Pickford (from Sunderland) and Michael Keane (Burnley) on 2 £30 million deals. Not to mention enlisting young Spanish Attacker Sandro Ramirez for £5.2 million pipping Atletico Madrid to the signature, all this without mentioning the return of youth academy product Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) on a free transfer, Davy Klaasan (Ajax) for £23.6 million and the Icelandic midfielder Glyfi Sigurdsson (Swansea) for £45 million.
(Everton have spent big this summer with £150 million worth of investment)
But despite these signings Everton have been lacklustre this season and despite a £150 million investment Everton currently sit in the relegation places in 18th and the widely praised Koeman from last season was axed, currently former Everton player and Under-23’s manager David Unsworth is at the helm of the Liverpool based club.
But while many pundits and fans alike want him to stay despite losses against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and Leicester City in the League with Phil Neville among others backing the former centre-back, but Arsenal Legend Ian Wright is not so convinced.
“If Everton hand him the reins now ahead of time, it could turn out to be the worst move either of them could make. Romanticism is all fine and good but it doesn’t win you points and matches. The Premier League is not like that. If you’re not up to it, if you’re not ready, it chews you up and spits you out, and for Everton it is all about survival.
“If anyone truly believes doing a great job with the Under-23s qualifies you as a Prem manager, they’re sadly mistaken.”
(Current manager David Unsworth could be set to return back down to the Under 23’s following his 2 defeats)
The Everton hierarchy it seems agree with Wright, and they have set their sights on one of Carlo Ancelotti or Thomas Tuchel. The two former Bundesliga managers would arguably be a step up for Everton with Tuchel renowned for his attacking style he deployed at Dortmund and Carlo Ancelotti renowned for his success across Europe, Ancelotti, who is open to a return to the Premier League would be a good fit for Everton but following his dismissal at Bayern has decided to take the rest of the year off.
Meanwhile Tuchel who has been out of work since the summer following his sacking by Borussia Dortmund has also been linked with the vacant Everton job, his brand of attacking direct football would be a welcome change for a Everton team who this campaign have found scoring troubling. But their troubles extend to the back as Everton have the least clean sheets in the Premier League tying at only 1 with Bournemouth.
But while the board set their hopes high with Tuchel and Ancelotti the reality is that they won’t get either, if they fail to get either the Merseyside club will turn their attentions to Sean Dyche and Sam Allardyce. Sean Dyche wants more money to spend on transfers and Everton could be the place for him, with a owner intent on getting Everton to the big time Dyche currently sits as the Bookmakers favourite.
Meanwhile currently retired Sam Allardyce has come out to state that he is considering taking the Everton job, as we have seen with Palace after his sacking at the hands of the English national team he can steer clubs out of rocky waters. But there is a hidden cost of hiring the experienced Englishman with Palace to receive £2 million from Everton if they hire “Big Sam.” The contract with Palace saw the Eagles insert a clause stating they would be due compensation were Allardyce to step into any club job before a certain date, while the date is unclear the compensation fee is set to reduce come January 2018.
(It could be a English manager that takes the helm of Everton with Allardyce and Dyche set to go head to head for the Goodison job)
Everton who currently sit in a woeful 18th need to act fast in order to catapult themselves through the positions, their dire position is a far cry from the dizzying heights they achieved last season finishing 6th and granting them entry into the Europa League (which they are equally doing woeful in). So whatever the Everton board decide they need to so so quickly or £150 million worth of players could decide to leave Goodison park for pastures new.
By Lewis Holman
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