Marco Silva’s Fulham have been one of the revelations of the Premier League so far this season, and the Cottagers show no signs of slowing down on their return to the English top flight.
After an impressive first half of the campaign, Fulham have been the second-best team in the league since the World Cup when it comes to points gained. Under the guidance of Portuguese boss Silva, the London outfit have impressed many with their football and sit 6th in the table.
“It’s been an excellent season,” Silva tells Eleven Sports. “Surprising? I can’t say that. For those who are watching from the outside and for those who understand the reality of the Premier League and how difficult the Premier League is, I think it is surprising to see the position we are in in the table.
“But above everything is the way we play, how competitive we have been and we deserve to be where we are. I believe that the word surprise can make some sense to those outside. For us internally, honestly no.
“It has nothing to do with the position in the table, because it can change in two or three rounds of matches and things can change quickly. It has much more to do with the way we have been playing, how we have deserved the results - we maybe even deserved more than we have at the moment - and the way we have developed as a team, individually and collectively, that’s really our big weapon.”
New article ✍️?
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) February 22, 2023
Marco Silva has been speaking to Eleven Sports in Portugal about Fulham's season. Silva is not surprised by the club's form, while discussing why he signed Portuguese duo João Palhinha and Cédric Soares.
Quotes on PortuGOAL: https://t.co/Y3bhRvqYBE pic.twitter.com/dP38kACTGA
Palhinha, Cédric in the ranks
Fulham boosted their squad with two Portuguese additions this season: João Palhinha arrived from Sporting in a deal worth €22m, followed by a loan deal for Cédric Soares in January from Arsenal. Silva spoke on both players during the interview with Eleven Sports.
“We signed João firstly because he has quality, that’s unquestionable,” Silva said. “Second because we thought he would adapt very well to English football and because we felt that we needed a player with that profile to often free up our two other midfielders that we play in front of him.
“And fortunately, he adapted very well. He was very well welcomed, which is one of the characteristics this club has - they receive players very well. We have a good dressing room that welcomed him very well and understood what our idea was.
“We signed Cédric because we clearly wanted and needed a player like him for the position. It will be very competitive between him and Kenny [Tete] who has been having a very good season, but we we know that Cédric gives us other things too. He can play on the left when he needs to and he gives us the experience, quality and knowledge of the Premier League that he has.”
And the ongoing improvement since the World Cup in Qatar, which has seen Fulham keep five clean sheets in nine matches? “We have not changed, we are not a less offensive team since the World Cup,” Silva insists. “We are a team that is growing in that aspect and we are very satisfied with that.
“It is important for us to reach the end of the game and have the feeling we did in the last one, which was difficult, but which we managed to win at home. And that we managed to win without conceding goals. I think that makes the team grow and gives confidence to everyone.”
By Sean Gillen
