Fulham returned to winning ways in the Premier League as Marco Silva's side sealed a 2-0 win at Leicester City.
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Following a midweek loss at West Ham United, which ended an eight-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, the visitors stayed composed as second-half goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traore secured their victory.
The hosts had the better of the first half but failed to capitalise on this and were punished just three minutes after the break, when Smith Rowe headed Fulham at home.
Silva's men again showed their clinical edge as Traore volleyed home from close range in the 68th minute.
A seventh successive Premier League defeat keeps Leicester 19th in the table, two points from safety, as Fulham go ninth.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 |
Everton
EVE
|
20 | -11 | 17 |
| 17 |
Wolves
WOL
|
21 | -17 | 16 |
| 18 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
21 | -17 | 16 |
| 19 |
Leicester
LEI
|
22 | -25 | 14 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
21 | -34 | 6 |
How the match unfolded
The hosts carved out the better chances in the opening stages, with Bernd Leno denying Jordan Ayew inside the first 90 seconds. Victor Kristiansen also curled wide, after slaloming into the Fulham box just before the half-hour mark.
It was that lack of cutting edge that proved costly for Leicester, as Fulham seized their chance after the restart when Smith Rowe nodded in from Sasa Lukic's flick-on.
That seemed to knock Leicester's confidence and Ayew wasted a half-chance to equalise, before Traore calmly netted with a volley from Harry Wilson's dinked cross.
With the chances of a comeback diminishing, Leicester continued to battle away and Jamie Vardy snatched a shot just wide in the closing stages.
Vardy almost grabbed a late consolation goal when Leno clawed away his close-range drive, although a delayed flag suggested the Leicester captain would have been ruled offside anyway.
Vardy fails to carry Foxes
Veteran striker Vardy remains a menace for Premier League defences but his potency could not get them anything against Fulham.
His sharpness in and around the opposition penalty box means he continues to be the Foxes' main attacking threat but Ruud Van Nistelrooy will be acutely aware of the need for a Plan B to the 38-year-old.
Four successive home matches without a goal exemplifies just how much Leicester are struggling to drag themselves out of the relegation zone.
The Foxes are not the only bottom-three team with issues in finding the back of the net on a regular basis, but failure to address the situation in the coming weeks could decide their fate at the end of the campaign.
Van Nistelrooy and Leicester now face back-to-back away matches at Tottenham Hotspur and fellow strugglers Everton, and they need the supporting cast to lighten the load on Vardy.
Smith Rowe finds his feet in Silva's system
Former Arsenal star Smith Rowe made the call to revive his Premier League career at Fulham in the summer and is now beginning to show why he is so highly rated.
His bravery to dive in and convert Fulham's breakthrough goal at King Power Stadium showed his tenacity and intelligence. His first appearance for the club came in the reverse fixture against Leicester earlier in the season.
A tactical tweak from Silva unlocked Smith Rowe's strengths in this match as he benefited from a solid midfield base behind him.
The call to start Sander Berge and Lukic in a two-man defensive midfield set-up allowed Smith Rowe the flexibility to concentrate on his preferred no.10 role.
That small change gave the visitors more balance in the middle of the pitch, with Lukic and Berge winning the battle, and Smith Rowe adding some spark.
Silva's smart decisions are powering Fulham's push for Europe this season and Smith Rowe will be hopeful of retaining his starting spot at home to Manchester United next weekend.
Club reports
Leicester report | Fulham report
What the managers said:
Ruud van Nistelrooy: "We deserved to be beaten, Fulham were the better team. It was disappointing in all aspects of the game. We weren't good enough in all aspects. This is the first game I've felt like this."
Marco Silva: "It was a professional win and a good victory. It was really difficult in the first half, they started quicker than us and some of the set pieces were a wake-up call for us. After we had good control of the game, there weren't many chances, but we started the second half well with the goal and from there we built the win, scored the second and had chances to score the third."
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Key facts
Leicester have lost seven consecutive league matches for only the fourth time in their history; their previous losing streaks of that length ended in April 2001 (a run of eight), September 1990, and January 1932.
Fulham have won four of their 11 Premier League away matches this season (D4 L3), as many league victories as they picked up on the road across the whole of the 2023/24 campaign (W4 D6 L9).
Smith Rowe has scored more Premier League goals against Leicester City (3) than any other opponent, after netting today on his 100th appearance in the competition.
Leicester have failed to score in four consecutive home league matches for the first time since September 1983 (a run of five). They have drawn a blank in five of their nine league matches under Van Nistelrooy, after doing so in just one of their first 13 matches of the season under Steve Cooper and caretaker manager Ben Dawson.
