Fulham boss Marco Silva praised Emile Smith Rowe as his goal put the Cottagers on course for a 2-0 Premier League win at Leicester City.
Silva's charges slumped to a midweek defeat to rivals West Ham United, ending their eight-match unbeaten run in the league, but Fulham rallied strongly at the King Power Stadium.
Smith Rowe's second-half goal gave the away side a platform to build on in the East Midlands, before Adama Traore's late volley sealed the win.
With three points on the road, Fulham rise to ninth place, with Silva not ruling out a possible attempt at European qualification for the first time since 2010/2011.
Smith Rowe is starting to flourish as he once again proved to be Leicester's scourge – he has now scored three goals against the Foxes, more than any other opponent.
A goal on his 100th Premier League appearance will be a major boost as he has scored in back-to-back games against Leicester this season, with all four of his league goals coming in Fulham wins in 2024/25.
“We should have more points to be honest. I'm always ambitious, but in terms of performance, the way we have played and been dominant in most of our games, we should have more points. But in the Premier League the The difference and the details are so small and sometimes they have not been in our favor,” Silva told BBC Sport.
Back on the scoresheet.pic.twitter.com/o5mqgQ6SRG
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) January 18, 2025
“There have been some big improvements from last season, in terms of results and points, and we have performed better this season than some periods last season.
“We will fight for more because we are a very ambitious group. Emile Smith Rowe is an important player for us and we need to keep him as fit as possible to help us keep going.
Silva's optimism was in stark contrast to Ruud van Nistelrooy's message after the match, as the Dutch coach looks to drag the Foxes out of relegation danger.
A seventh successive Premier League defeat keeps Leicester within the relegation zone, 19th in the table and two points away from safety, with Van Nistelrooy winning just one league match since his arrival in November.
In fact, Leicester have failed to score in four consecutive home games for the first time since September 1983 (a run of five), while they have recorded a clean sheet in five of their nine Premier League games under Van Nistelrooy, having done so in had only done it once. one of their first 13 games of the season under Steve Cooper/Ben Dawson.
The survival gap remains within reach for Van Nistelrooy, but he admitted he was concerned about fans becoming disillusioned with a battle looming ahead of trips to Tottenham and Everton.
“We deserved to be beaten, Fulham were the better team. We were disappointed in all aspects of the game. This is the first game I have felt like this. In the other games I felt there was enough to to get a result and today That was not there,” he told BBC Sport.
“It is up to us as players and me as a manager to bring this forward now. It is clear that we have to bring back hope for the fans and that starts with us. It is our responsibility to work hard, to be better do and move on.” there.”
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