Fulham midfielder Alex Iwobi voiced his frustration after his team suffered a 5-4 loss to Manchester City in a thrilling encounter on Tuesday night, SportPremi reports.
The Cottagers failed to build on their impressive win over Tottenham Hotspur in their last match when they were defeated by the former Premier League champions in front of their home fans.
The Nigerian midfielder, as well as countryman Samuel Chukwueze were both on the scoresheet, but could not prevent their side from falling to a defeat.
- Check here: Eric Chelle names 54-man Preliminary Squad
It marked a record-equalling appearance for the 29-year-old, who could now move into third place on the all-time appearances in the English Premier League by an African footballer.
The result also leaves them in 15th spot on the standings, five points above Nottingham Forest who occupy the 16th position.
Chukwueze and Iwobi shine in Fulham defeat
Fulham manager Marco Silva started both Alex Iwobi, his 305th EPL appearance and Calvin Bassey, while Samuel Chukwueze was left on the bench despite a player of the match display in the win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Erling Haaland gave the visitors the lead with his 100th Premier League goal, becoming the fastest player to achieve the feat and Tijjani Reijnders doubled the lead minutes later.
Phil Foden made it three for the visitors, before Emile Smith-Rowe pulled one back for Fulham on the stroke of halftime.
Foden grabbed his second of the night three minutes later, before an own goal from Sander Berge made it 5-1 to the visitors.
Then, it became the show of the Nigerian players as Iwobi scored with a stunning atrike from the edge of the box to make the scoreline 5-2.
Chukwueze, who had come on at halftime, scored his first EPL goal with a stunner that went past Donnarumma, before he his second goal with another outstanding effort.
Fulham were denied an equalizer by Josko Gvardiol, who cleared an effort off the line as Manchester City sealed the 5-4 win.
Iwobi disappointed with result
Alex Iwobi marked his 305th EPL appearance with a goal in the Cottagers defeat that halted their winning momentum.
Speaking after the clash, the Nigerian midfielder expressed his disappointment at the result and believes his side deserved more.
“I feel disappointed because we didn’t get anything out of the fighting spirit that we showed, but I think we have to take the positivity from the game”, Iwobi admitted.
“We showed that fighting spirit in the second half, but unfortunately, there’s nothing to show for it.
“The manager spoke to us at halftime, saying one thing that we can’t let our heads drop, no matter what happened and also do it for the fans.
“And to be fair, they were with us till the last minute of the game, so we put on a show for the people watching, but it wasn’t the result we wanted”, the Nigerian midfielder added.
On the comeback
“We fed off the fans, it was as if we had a 12th member on the pitch, that sort of feeling. They gave us the energy to attack.
“Credit to them, but then credit to us too for that second half, and to everyone involved for enabling us to push until the last minute of the game.
On his goal in the defeat
“It wasn’t that bad [my goal and finish], it’s something I work with in training with a particular coach [Colin Omogbehin].
“We work a lot in training, so credit to him and credit to me for pulling it off in the game”, he concluded.
Fulham will return to league action on Sunday with a London derby clash at the Craven Cottage against Crystal Palace.
