THE NOTEBOOK: Willian maintains his perfect penalty record, Jose Sa fumes at lenient ref… and why Wolves will not be looking forward to returning to the capital to face Arsenal
- Fulham 3-2 Wolves: Willian’s contentious 94th-minute penalty ends winless run
- Wolves were on the wrong end of another tight VAR decision which cost them
- It’s ridiculous to see Steve Cooper under pressure at Nottingham Forest. He’s been the best since Brian Clough – It’s All Kicking Off
Willian completed his brace with a dramatic stoppage-time winner from the penalty spot as Fulham held off Wolves to claim all three points in a thrilling 3-2 victory at Craven Cottage.
The experienced 35-year-old scored two penalties, while Alex Iwobi’s early strike was cancelled out by Matheus Cunha and Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chan also netted from the spot.
The winger’s double took his tally to three for the season as the Cottagers claimed their first victory in five games.
The victory moved Fulham up to 14th in the table on 15 points, level with Wolves.
Mail Sport’s Aadam Patel takes a look at some of things you may have missed.
Fulham forward Willian has now scored all seven of his Premier League penalties
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Willian maintains perfect record
Willian has now scored all seven of his Premier League penalties.
Only Yaya Toure (11), Dimitar Berbatov (9) and Ruben Neves (8) have better 100% penalty records in Premier League history.
And this was just the second time a Premier League game has seen three second-half penalties scored after Everton against Newcastle United in September 2003 (also three).
Willian maintained his perfect record from the spot as he dispatched two spot kicks on Monday
Sa fumes at lenient ref
Referee Michael Salisbury is one of the more lenient officials in the league, averaging less than three yellow cards per game this season.
For context, the fourth official Darren England has dished out 15 yellows in the two Premier League games he’s officiated this term.
Salisbury is also one of a handful of referees yet to send anyone off this campaign and his leniency was in full flow early on with both Harrison Reed and Antonee Robinson fortunate not to pick up bookings for shocking challenges.
Little doubt that both would have been carded if those fouls happened later in the game, with both Tim Ream and Joao Gomes booked for fouls later in the half that were nowhere near as bad.
That lack of consistency is one of the things that must be addressed and the TV cameras caught Jose Sa making his feelings known to Salisbury in the tunnel before the players emerged for the second half.
Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa made his feelings known to referee Michael Salisbury at half-time
O’Neil pleased with performance
When Wolves lost to high-flying Ipswich in the Carabao Cup in September, Gary O’Neil’s side had just four points in six games and were booed off by the travelling support at Portman Road.
In his post-match press conference that night, O’Neil delivered a two-minute monologue outlining what he thought were deep-lying problems at Molineux from Julen Lopetegui’s tenure.
‘When I arrived (in August), the culture of the club needed a shift,’ the Wolves boss said. ‘Some of it needed to move into more togetherness and the way they went about thing was very individual-focused. There wasn’t a lot of structure to what they did,’ he added. Four days later, they became the first side to beat Man City in the league this season and that togetherness has been evident since.
Despite going down early on against Fulham, their high-risk football with two wing-backs was admirable and when Matheus Cunha turned to the away end to celebrate a first-half throw in, and if anything, it was an indicator of that togetherness that O’Neil desired.
They had every right at full time to perhaps be aggrieved with the penalty decisions but this was a performance that pleased O’Neil too, judging by his reaction at full time where he congratulated each of his players.
Wolves boss Gary O’Neil consoled his players after the controversial defeat at Fulham
Wolves lose again in the capital
Before this game, Fulham had lost each of their last six Premier League games on Monday night, failing to score on five occasions in that run.
In fact, you had to go back over a decade to October 2013 when won 4-1 at Crystal Palace for the last time they won a Premier League game on a Monday night. As for Wolves, they are now winless in their last 12 trips to London.
Though they won’t have to wait long for their next chance with a return to the capital to face Arsenal on Saturday.
But they will be without two of their midfielders in Joao Gomes and Mario Lemina for that trip. Both picked up their fifth bookings of the season and will be suspended.
Work in progress at Fulham
Craven Cottage under the lights and next to the River Thames always makes for a stunning sight.
Even more so now from outside as the new Riverside Stand nears conclusion but once inside, it has the feel of an extension that has been built but is still waiting for the furniture with the main part of the stand still shut.
Mail Sport understands that it is undergoing a phased opening with more seats and concourse areas scheduled to open next season. While other amenities including a hotel, a health spa and a members club won’t be open till 2025.
The new Riverside Stand is a stunning sight even though main part of the stand is still shut
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