Fulham 5-3 Leicester City: Willian, Tom Cairney score twice to deepen Foxes' relegation woes
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Updated 08/05/2023 at 16:18 GMT
Leicester's relegation worries deepened as they were beaten 5-3 by Fulham on Monday. Willian and Tom Cairney scored twice for the home side, while Carlos Vinicius also got on the scoresheet. Leicester netted three times in the second half but left it too late to get anything out of the game. They remain out of the relegation zone only on goal difference.
Fulham's Willian celebrates scoring
Image credit: Getty Images
Fulham thrashed Leicester City 5-3 at Craven Cottage to solidify their hold on 10th place in the Premier League and leave the Foxes deep in relegation trouble.
Willian got the opener after 10 minutes when he watched his free-kick from the sideline deceive Leicester goalkeeper Daniel Iversen and bounce into the goal.
Eight minutes later, Brazilian Carlos Vinicius produced an unhurried finish after a lovely reverse pass from Harry Wilson to make it 2-0.
Tom Cairney made it 3-0 right before half-time when Wout Faes' attempted clearance fell to Fulham on the edge of the Foxes' box. The ball eventually came to Scotland international Cairney who floored Caglar Soyuncu with a neat feint before whipping his shot beyond Iversen.
Cairney scored his second shortly after the break when he finished off a sensational Fulham counter-attack.
With matches against Liverpool and Newcastle to come, this was a contest that Leicester could not afford to lose but they approached it like they were the side sitting comfortably in mid-table.
Harvey Barnes pulled one back from close range for Leicester and Jamie Vardy had the chance to make it 4-2 with 25 minutes to play, but saw his penalty saved by Bernd Leno. It was Leno who had conceded the spot-kick with a mad rush out of his goal, but made up for the error with an excellent stop.
Willian made it five for Fulham with an excellent, dipping strike from distance before James Maddison converted Leicester’s second penalty of the day and Barnes netted a late third.
Leicester, who are only out of the relegation zone on goal difference, host Liverpool next, before a trip to St James' Park to face Newcastle, and then finishing their season at home to resurgent West Ham.
Talking point: Do Leicester want to go down?
This was a staggering performance from a team very much in the relegation mix. Leicester were flattened by the Cottagers who could easily have won by six goals. Fulham gave plenty of warning before their first goal and even at 2-0 down Leicester showed little stomach for the fight.
The introduction of Wilfred Ndidi made a real difference to the Foxes’ midfield but the match was already over by that point.
With Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Everton all in action later today, Leicester could be in the bottom three by tea time.
Player of the match: Willian
The Brazilian veteran got the party started with a good free-kick into a dangerous area and ended any hopes of a Leicester comeback with Fulham’s fourth goal. In between, he produced strong, intelligent running and was a constant threat. More than that, he showed the clever touches and incisive passes that have made him a mainstay in London for 10 years.
In truth, half a dozen of his team-mates could have been man of the match, but Willian was just that little bit more of a standout.
Player ratings
Fulham: Leno 6, Diop 5, Adarabioyo 6, Robinson 6, Tete 7, Cairney 7, Reed 7, Palhinha 8, Vinicius 7, Willian 8, Wilson 8. Subs: Cordova-Reid N/A, Lukic N/A, Kebano N/A, Duffy 6, Solomon N/A.
Leicester: Iversen 4, Soyuncu 5, Faes 4, Kristiansen 6, Castagne 6, Praet 5, Soumare 6, Tielemans 6, Vardy 6, Barnes 7, Maddison 7. Subs: Daka N/A, Thomas N/A, Tete 7, Ndidi 7, Dewsbury-Hall N/A
Match highlights
10’ GOAL FULHAM - Willian's free kick from the sideline deceives Daniel Iversen who watches it bounce past him and into the goal.
18’ GOAL FULHAM - Just too easy for Fulham as Harry Wilson feeds Carlos Vinicius on the break and the Brazilian just rolls his shot into the bottom corner.
44’ GOAL FULHAM - Cairney embarrasses Soyuncu with a feint before cutting onto his right foot and curling his shot into the far corner.
51’ GOAL FULHAM - A brilliant counter-attacking goal from Fulham ends with Tom Cairney completing his brace from the penalty spot. Leicester were torn apart by some remarkable Fulham football.
59’ GOAL LEICESTER - Barnes hammers in a first goal of the game for Leicester as Maddison takes the ball down in the box and rolls it into space unselfishly.
66’ VARDY MISSES PENALTY - Fulham keeper Bernd Leno makes up for his horrendous error with an excellent penalty save.
70’ GOAL FULHAM - Willian makes it five with a brilliant dipping strike from way out.
81’ GOAL LEICESTER - Maddison pulls another one back for Leicester with a well-taken penalty.
89’ GOAL LEICESTER - A comedy of errors from Fulham at the back sees the eighth goal of the day. Leno was wrongfooted by a backwards header from Duffy before Adarabioyo watches Barnes arrive to put it away.
Key stats
Fulham: 40 - The home side made 40 tackle attempts, more than double Leicester's 17 despite having nearly double the possession. Fulham were ravenous out of possession, hounding and harrying Leicester into errors and converting those moments into scoring chances. The third goal, right before half-time, was a perfect example.
Leicester: 20 - Leicester actually finished the match with more shots than Fulham (17-18) but didn't have their first attempt until the 20th minute, by which point they were 2-0 down. The shocking lack of urgency from the visitors was matched only by their ineptitude in both attack and defence in the first half.
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