Fulham manager Marco Silva has expressed satisfaction with the performance of Nigerian forward Samuel Chukwueze after their 1-0 win over Sunderland in the English Premier League on Saturday, SportPremi reports.
The Super Eagles winger came off the bench and provided a decisive contribution in the clash, setting up Raul Jimenez late winner for the side.
The 26-year-old endured a disappointing campaign for his country during the international break as their hopes of reaching the 2026 FIFA World Cup was ended in a defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the CAF playoff final.
The victory moved them up to 14th on the league standings with 14 points ahead of other fixtures in the match-day, while Sunderland drop out of the top four after a great start to the season.
Chukwueze stars in Fulham’s late show
Fulham headed into the clash on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Everton in their last match, while Sunderland had snatched a late point in a 2-2 draw against Arsenal.
Marco Silva started two of the three Nigerians in the squad, with Alex Iwobi making his 303rd appearance and Calvin Bassey also getting the nod to start, while Chukwueze was left on the bench.
The home side dominated the opening exchanges of the clash, but wasted several chances to go ahead with Harry Wilson and Kevin being the major culprits, as the first half ended goalless.
The game looked to be heading towards a disappointing draw for the home side until a moment of real quality gave them the important goal.
Chukwueze, who had come on earlier in the game, produced an inviting cross that was tapped into the net by Raul Jimenez as Fulham grabbed all three points from the clash.
The Nigerian winger ended the match with five chances created in just 26 minutes spent on the pitch as he recorded his second league assist of the season.
Silva hails Chukwueze and entire team performance
While speaking after the clash, Marco Silva lauded the impact made by Samuel Chukwueze on his introduction to the match.
“We deserved the three points. We scored a late goal, but we should have scored much earlier in the game”, the Fulham boss revealed.
“Back on track. We needed that for our fans, for them. We created 3-4 clear chances in the first half. Nothing for them apart from Traore.
“We always had the possession well balanced, good performance overall. Massive impact from ESR and Chukwueze.
“We are going to need Samuel [Chukwueze] from the start, but we will lose him to AFCON soon. Clean sheet, solid”, he added.
Fulham sealed their second win in three league matches and are back in action next weekend with a tough test against Tottenham Hotspur.
