Fulham 5-3 Leicester: Willian inspires hosts to memorable win as Foxes' relegation fears grow

Leicester's hopes of avoiding relegation were handed a damaging blow against Fulham as Willian inspired the hosts to a memorable 5-3 win at Craven Cottage.

Dean Smith's side only sit above the relegation zone on goal difference and could find themselves as low as 19th by Monday night, with Everton and Nottingham Forest - two of the sides below them in the Premier League - still to play.

Leicester now face a daunting task to save themselves from a stunning drop into the Championship, with Liverpool and Newcastle next up before a game against West Ham on the final day.

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Taking points in west London felt imperative for the Foxes but those hopes seemed over by half-time thanks to Willian's free-kick, plus goals from Carlos Vinicius and Tom Cairney.

The visitors' defence continued to disintegrate after the interval, with Cairney adding a second, but Harvey Barnes pulled one back before Jamie Vardy saw a penalty saved by Bernd Leno.

Willian then bent in a glorious fifth but the hosts lost their way, handing Leicester another spot-kick that James Maddison converted before a dreadful Shane Duffy header presented Barnes with the chance to sweep in his second.

It was too little too late for Leicester though, while Fulham close the gap on rivals Brentford - who are one place above them in ninth - to just two points.

How Willian helped punish lousy Leicester

The tone was set for another Leicester defeat in the 10th minute, when Willian’s whipped free-kick from the left touchline flew uninterrupted into the far corner. There was no anticipation or resistance as the ball deceived every Foxes defender - just an acceptance of their fate.

That theme continued throughout a shambolic first half, with Vinicius striding through a gaping hole in the Leicester defence to slide in Fulham’s second, before Cairney bent in his first after Wout Faes’ weak clearance.

Leicester were lucky to only be 3-0 down at half-time, with Daniel Iversen producing two saves to deny Harrison Reed, while the visitors’ only chance saw Leno push Vardy’s shot wide after Antonee Robinson gave the ball away.

Leicester briefly looked more competent immediately after half-time, with Leno required to tip away Barnes’ shot, but their defence then went AWOL again, allowing Cairney all the time he needed to slot in his second after Kenny Tete charged down the right wing.

Barnes did get on the scoresheet with a deflected strike shortly after and the fightback looked on when Leno brought down Vardy in the area, but the goalkeeper kept out the striker’s tame effort.

Willian re-established the four-goal margin with the pick of the eight strikes, a bending effort from 25 yards, but Leicester’s dismal performance appeared to lull Fulham into complacency and they surrendered two goals to bring about a tense final period of the game.

Maddison sparked the nerves when he made amends for his penalty miss at Everton last week by winning and converting a spot-kick, and Duffy then came off the bench to hand Barnes his second on a plate when his headed pass deceived Leno and left an open goal.

Fortunately for Fulham, they regained their composure in time to put an end to Leicester’s hopes - and leave their opponents in the unenviable position of likely needing to take points off Champions League hopefuls Liverpool and Newcastle in their next two games.

Smith: First half worried me

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Smith insisted after the game that he has seen enough from Leicester since his appointment last month to believe they can stay up, but admitted their capitulation in the capital was unexpected.

"The game was lost in the first half," said the Leicester boss. "I’m disappointed because I didn’t see that coming. We’ve had a good week in training so I expected a far better performance.

"It was far too easy to get into our box and create chances.

"We were quite happy to get in at half-time. I was certainly very worried in the first half. That’s the first time I’ve seen it with these players and I hope I don’t see that again. I’m sure I won’t.

"It wasn’t a lack of fight - we just didn’t get close enough to them.

"I’ve signs they’re good enough but you can’t keep conceding goals like we do. We’ve conceded some poor goals as well, where I don’t think the opposition have had to work particularly hard to score. That’s what has to stop."

Leaky Leicester asking for trouble

Leicester somehow shipped 23 shots and an expected goals total of 3.09 against Everton, the Premier League’s lowest scores, in their most recent game, but their defensive display at Fulham was even more concerning.

The Foxes allowed their hosts to score five goals from an expected total of just 1.42, with Smith conceding after the game his team failed to get close to Fulham’s players in attacking areas.

There was a sense of everything that Fulham touched turning to gold in the final third, with Willian twice striking from outside the box, including from a free-kick that was meant as a cross.

But the positioning of Leicester’s defenders for many of the Fulham goals was damning, particularly for Vinicius’ strike, when Caglar Soyuncu and Faes left a gap as wide as the nearby River Thames for the striker to wander into.

The defensive issues date back to before Smith’s time in charge and the manager has not been granted much time in which to fix them - but he must find a way if Leicester are to survive.

They are the only remaining side in a major European league not to keep a clean sheet since the World Cup - a record that is asking for relegation.

Silva: Clearly we were the better team

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Marco Silva was delighted with Fulham’s performance and believed his side should have claimed an even more convincing win, saying: “Clearly we were the best team on the pitch and we should have won this game much more comfortably.

“Great moments of football, great goals and we started really intensely. I was really pleased to see the way the players expressed themselves on the pitch.

“The goals we conceded were unnecessary. They are moments where we have to be much more consistent. In some moments around our box we have to be more calm.

“But the performance was so good - even great, I would say.”

Willian enjoying late-career renaissance

Willian’s return to London last summer raised a few eyebrows - and not in a good way.

After leaving Chelsea for Arsenal three years ago, the winger looked a busted flush during his solitary season at the Emirates and quickly returned to Brazil with Corinthians.

But Willian’s homecoming turned sour, prompting him to seek out another Premier League spell with Fulham following their return to the top flight.

Remarkably, the 34-year-old looks back to his best after two fallow years and ran the game from his position on the left wing as Fulham dismantled Leicester.

Scoring two goals from an expected goals total of 0.1 is some achievement and, while he will struggle to claim he meant to score his first, Willian’s second was an example of the quality he exudes when he’s in full flight.

His renaissance during the autumn of his career has been just one of a number of impressive feats during Fulham’s commendable first season back in the big time.

What's next?

Fulham's final three games of the season see them head to Southampton on Saturday May 13, kick-off 3pm, before they host Crystal Palace and then finish at Manchester United.

Live MNF

Leicester also have three games left to stay in the Premier League. They are visited by Liverpool on Monday Night Football and then travel to Newcastle. Their final match could be crucial against fellow strugglers West Ham at the King Power Stadium.

Fulham's remaining fixtures

May 13: Southampton (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm

May 20: Crystal Palace (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm

May 28: Man Utd (A) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm

Leicester's remaining fixtures

May 15: Liverpool (H) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports

May 22: Newcastle (A) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm

May 28: West Ham (H) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm

Opta stats: Fulham’s excellent season continues

• Fulham enjoyed their 14th Premier League win of the season; only in 1959-60 have they ever won more games in a top-flight campaign (17).
• Leicester have lost 21 Premier League games this season, their most in a league campaign since 1994-95 (25), a season in which they were relegated from the top flight.
• Fulham scored five goals in a Premier League game for the first time since beating Norwich 5-0 in August 2012.
• James Maddison became the first Leicester player to assist a goal in three consecutive Premier League appearances since Riyad Mahrez in February 2016. Maddison has nine assists overall in the competition this term, his most in a single top-flight campaign.
• Leicester’s Jamie Vardy has won 23 penalties in the Premier League, the joint-most of any player in the competition's history, along with Raheem Sterling. It was the 17th time he took the penalty himself having won it, but only the second time he missed when doing so (also September 2017 v Liverpool).

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