Fulham’s post-Palhinha renewal offers clues to Guardiola’s Rodri puzzle | Fulham

FUlham was widely expected to go backwards this season. As much as they tried to extend it, they lost the very public battle to keep João Palhinha, the key cog in their midfield who opted to sign for Bayern Munich this summer. Adding to the challenges, they have been without a reliable goalscorer since the departure of Aleksandar Mitrovic a year earlier and lost several first-team players in the last transfer window. Still, the initial results have allayed concerns about a decline. Fulham are sixth in the Premier League, compared to eleventh last season.

Palhinha’s departure presented a unique challenge: try to replace an irreplaceable player or adapt without him. Marco Silva chose the latter. Without their midfield destroyer, the manager has pushed Fulham higher up the pitch and has now deployed the fifth highest defensive line in the league, behind only Manchester City, Brighton, Tottenham and Arsenal (Fulham were 17th last season).

Former Crystal Palace centre-back Joachim Andersen has become a key player in the revamp of the system. The Dane has transformed Fulham’s build-up play by using his passing range to pick out Alex Iwobi, Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traoré with long diagonals. His technical prowess also means the opposition rarely disrupts the new high line.

“We really pushed the board (to sign Andersen),” Silva said. “The club has made the effort and we are pleased to have him join us for his leadership, maturity, understanding and knowledge of the Premier League. We need to build a team with certain types of attributes. Andersen has them all to be honest.

“The quality is there, the way we want to play, the way we want to build from the back with a back four. He’s already a great tool for us to use, and I think he’s going to be a very important asset for us. He has already shown that.”

Rather than pairing a ball winner like Palhinha with a traditional box-to-box midfielder, Silva has restructured the midfield so that Sasa Lukic and Andreas Pereira, along with Traoré, Iwobi and Smith Rowe, can collectively win the ball back, rather than relying solely on one player to regain possession in deeper areas.

“If you don’t concede goals, it’s not just because of the back four or the goalkeeper,” Silva said. “It’s up front with the way our striker and attacking midfielder are starting to apply pressure. The organization of our midfielders is very important to help the back four. We have continued to improve in that area.”

Having players who have played for other clubs in the Premier League, especially together, has made this system change a lot smoother. “It took some time for Adama to get to his best level (after first signing). This season is completely different,” says Silva. “He has had a good preparation and now he has to try to maintain his level because he is not an easy player to stop when he is at his best.

“His collaboration with Raúl (Jiménez) is special. We all know what they had in the past at Wolves. So many assists from one to the other to score. They are well connected, even off the field, and that will always help us.”

Fulham are off to their best Premier League start in two decades with just one defeat, against Manchester United on the opening night of the season. Although Silva has played down rumors of European qualification, a place in the top half appears well within reach. However, a big test awaits against Manchester City on Saturday. The champions have won their last 16 meetings with Fulham in all competitions – the longest streak of any English side against each other. Fulham have not won at the Etihad Stadium since 2009 and last season they conceded nine goals in their two league games.

Defeat to City would certainly not derail Fulham’s progress or diminish the impact of Silva’s system overhaul. But their performance will be a crucial measure of whether the team is ready to take the next step. Although Pep Guardiola misses Rodri, the Fulham manager has noticed a new “unpredictability” in City’s play, especially in the way they create chances for Erling Haaland.

“Any team in the world would miss something if you lose a player like Rodri because it is almost impossible to find another player like him, but they clearly have different solutions. City,” says Silva. “Rodri is a special player and that is of course not good news for Pep. But that’s Pep’s problem. We have to look at ourselves and see how we will approach the match.

“With a striker like Haaland, they decide whether they want to put a little more pressure or attack directly from the back with him. Not only do they have the ability to start from the back, but they also have a number 9 who can connect them and hold the ball long enough before others arrive. We are aware of it and let’s hope we can play our game.”