After a quiet first half, Fulham coach Marco Silva was pleased to see a reaction from his team in Brighton on Sunday afternoon.
The Seagulls took a deserved 1-0 lead into the break, but Fulham were a different beast after the restart, with João Palhinha’s brilliant strike earning us a point seven minutes after a key triple change from Silva.
“Let's talk about the first half – we were not at the level that we should be,” Silva admitted. “We didn't reach the standards that we have to, to compete at this level.
“Not dynamic, not sharp enough to play in the way we like to play, against a team that we knew were going to press us high. You have to play much more dynamic, sometimes to play more simple, as I think we were taking always the most difficult decision on the ball.
“And the other really important aspect during the first half was the aggressiveness. I think we were not aggressive enough. Probably too much respect for Brighton, and they won most of the challenges.
“I think that we were not at our level, our pressure not at the level we planned for the match. We were not really taking the right moments and the right decisions to go to press them.
“Second half we made steps forward, much more on the front foot, the way we pressed them much more high, it was much more collective pressure, and was what we planned for the game.
“And on the ball we had much more belief and confidence to play, and we made them much more uncomfortable on the ball. We took some risks, which is part of the game, and second half was completely different.
“The three players that came in, they made a huge impact in the game as well. Good goal to equalise the game, in a moment that we pressed them high. And the reaction after the goal was really good.
“We had a very good chance with Rodrigo to score the second goal, very good save from the goalkeeper.
“Very good reaction from Brighton, I have to say, in the last minutes of the game when Joao Pedro and [Ansu] Fati started to react, [but] we kept organisation, togetherness as a unit, that we should have played with all game.”
Palhinha’s strike earned what was a deserved draw in the end, and Silva is keen to see the Portuguese become a real leader of the side.
“He leads by his attitude,” Silva said. “He is not the most vocal guy, he keeps improving his English as well, as I want him to be more vocal, to lead.
“In that position it’s really important in the way we play, for João, for Sasa Lukic, or for Harrison Reed, understanding all the moments of the game, and communicating to lead by example with the guys in front of you.
“I want to see Joao doing it more, it’s important he keeps improving his English, to be more vocal on the pitch, because he has all the other things – his attitude, his commitment, the way he leads by the attitude, the way he lifts the others around him as well.
“Those moments where we lose the ball, his defensive reaction is impressive. We want to be able to take the best from him in these moments, and in all the other moments we want him to keep improving.”