Fulham boss Marco Silva's thoughts on who deserved points at Leeds United and why
Leeds United left it late to beat the Portuguese manager's Fulham side on Saturday.
Fulham boss Marco Silva said his side failed to perform to the level a game against Leeds United demands as they lost in stoppage time at Elland Road.
Both sides had their moments in the first half but the Whites could and should have gone down the tunnel ahead, Brenden Aaronson racing in on goal only to shoot over the bar. The second half was so much more one-sided however with all the chances coming at one end. Gabriel Gudmundsson and Dominic Calvert-Lewin shot wide from great positions and the hosts were undeterred, pressing for a late winner. It came just inside stoppage time, Ethan Ampadu's cross finding Lukas Nmecha who volleyed home.
Silva was bitterly disappointed with how his side performed.
"It was not a good performance at all," he said. "We have to congratulate Leeds and move on. Looking deeper, the performance first half was balanced, we had moments and they had as well. No clear cut chances for either side, apart from one moment with Aaronson. Apart from that nothing really special."
The second half was where his side lost it, Silva admitting Leeds could have hit the front before they did.
"Second half we didn't perform to the level the game demands," he said. “They won it late but they had chances to win it before that. We should defend that moment better, three, four duels we should win. The crowd was pushing them and individual challenges they were going to be in the game. It showed in those moments we have to be more aggressive. The way we defended in those moments, we should have done better. They deserve the three points."
Fulham's lack of offensive output was a big indicator to Silva that they were not performing to the levels they have achieved of late and while he thought the Cottagers managed to quieten Elland Road at times with a foot on the ball, they struggled to make possession count.
"We can't always perform like I want and our fans but normally we create more chances," he said. "Today I don't remember one chance second half. We were not aggressive enough in attack. It was not us at our level. We have to move on.
"The atmosphere, if you love football you have to enjoy these grounds, simple as that. I enjoy, it's difficult but if you want to grow you have to face these types of challenge. We had moments on the ball that being brave we'd be able to calm the crowd but we didn't do the next bit. The other step, to go and be aggressive in the attack."