Match Report Fulham (0) 0-2 (2) West Ham United Saturday 15th December 2018    KO: 17:30 Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)

Match Stats	Fulham	West Ham
Goals	(0) 0	2 (2)
Scorers		Snodgrass 17
		Antonio 29
,
Goal attempts	16	6
On target	4	3
Shooting Accuracy	25%	50%
Possession	56%	44%
Passes	496	390
Passes Success	80%	75%
Crosses	27	20
Crosses Success	19%	20%
Corners	6	4
Tackles	16	22
Tackles Success	69%	68%
Saves	1	4
Fouls	14	10
Offsides	6	2
Yellows	2	1
Reds	0	0
source: SkySports

Claudio Ranieri’s reign so far at Fulham has been less “new-manager bounce” and more the dull thud of the reality he has inherited a squad unsuited to the Premier League.

Four points from the five matches he has presided over is not a collection rate that will keep Fulham out of the Championship.

They stay rooted to the bottom of the Premier League having been exposed by the quality of Felipe Anderson.

The Brazilian supplied the key passes for both West Ham’s first-half goals, scored by Robert Snodgrass and Michail Antonio.

West Ham look to have another cult hero on their hands and someone who could assume creative responsibility in the absence of Marko Arnautovic.

Before the match Ranieri had asked for a fighting spirit from the “very first whistle to the very last” and talked of his players “improving a lot with my tactics”.

But another demonstration of defective defending suggested spirit will not be enough and that his tactics need further time to bed in, time that Fulham do not have.

Fulham frequently had West Ham’s defence on the retreat and created six attempts on goal in a first half they dominated; but the difference at the break was that their opponents had scored from both their chances after being granted the freedom of south-west London to do so.

The habit of Ranieri’s long career has been to bolt the back door first but he is working with a group of players seemingly incapable of doing so.

With Calum Chambers detailed with shielding the defence as midfield partners Tom Cairney and Jean Michaël Seri probed, Fulham began on the front foot, with André Schürrle’s ninth-minute surge and shot beginning a spell of pressure.

Seconds later Aboubakar Kamara was through one-on-one on Lukasz Fabianski after a flick from Aleksandar Mitrovic.

West Ham’s goalkeeper won that duel by saving a weak effort with his shins.

But that back door swung open far too easily for West Ham’s 17th-minute opener.

Fulham’s sequence without a Premier League clean sheet was extended to 21 matches when Felipe Anderson, spinning past Denis Odoi, had the vision and time to set up Snodgrass for a finish from the edge of the box.

Snodgrass, scoring his second goal in two matches, is making the most of his return to West Ham having spent last season loaned to Aston Villa.

Fulham soon resumed their attacking pressure as Mitrovic and Kamara went close, the Frenchman twice; his second effort forced a fine save from Fabianski, only for the home defence to collapse once more in the 29th minute.

Felipe Anderson was again left unattended and his cross was flicked on by a contorted Javier Hernández into Antonio, who slotted home.

The Fulham goalkeeper, Sergio Rico, did not sugar his complaints about the protection he had received.

Ranieri reshuffled his defence at half-time, with Tim Ream replaced by Cyrus Christie and Odoi moved into the centre having been guilty of giving Anderson such space.

Fulham continued to attack with Fabián Balbuena having hurriedly to hack the ball clear when Cairney had escaped to make a cross from the byline.

While Ranieri must somehow pick up the pieces, Manuel Pellegrini has his team playing something along the mythical lines of the “West Ham Way”; they are scoring goals and also likely to concede at any moment.

A fourth consecutive win, the first time they have achieved that in the Premier League since February 2014, lifted them to ninth and suggested a team heading in completely the opposite direction to opponents taken apart with precision.

Fulham: Rico, Odoi, Mawson, Ream (Christie 45), Bryan, Chambers, Seri (Johansen 61), Cairney, Kamara, Schurrle (Kebano 77), Mitrovic

Unused substitutes: Bettinelli, Cissé, Ayite, Vietto

Booked: Seri (41,f), Johansen (90,f),

West Ham: Fabianski, Zabaleta, Balbuena, Diop, Masuaku, Snodgrass, Noble (Obiang 62), Rice, Anderson, Antonio (Diangana 85), Chicharito (Carroll 73)

Unused substitutes: Adrian, Cresswell, Ogbonna, Xande Silva

Goals:
Snodgrass 17( left footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Felipe Anderson.)
Antonio 29(left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Chicharito with a headed pass.)

Booked: Noble (39,f),

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)

Attendance: 24,081






























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