Fulham must use Brentford blueprint before poor start turns nasty
n one sense, Fulham can take heart from the knowledge they are unlikely to endure another day as bad as Saturday.
Midway through their 3-0 home humbling by Brentford, star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic was officially sold to Al Hilal in a £46million deal.
Mitrovic scored 14 Premier League goals last season, and the season before that he contributed a Championship record 43 goals in 44 games.
Fulham and Marco Silva must quickly find goals from other avenues and they should look to their conquerors at Craven Cottage for inspiration.
Brentford are without Ivan Toney until January due to his betting ban, but a fluid attacking duo of Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa have stepped up. They have five goals between them in the first two games, including Wissa’s opener and Mbeumo’s brace on Saturday.
Fulham must find ways to score regularly without a prolific striker. Summer signing Raul Jimenez from Wolves is experienced but is unlikely to be regular scorer.
And Silva’s comments after the game did not bode well for Jimenez’s chances of being trusted to fill the void.
“We want four or five players to sign before the finish of the market”, he said. “We will do our best [to replace Mitrovic]. We have to find the right player; we have to invest.”
Whether or not Fulham sign a new striker, playmakers Andreas Pereira, Willian, Harry Wilson and new signing Adama Traore must supplement Jimenez’s return.
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