Fulham 3-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers (27 Nov, 2023) Game Analysis،
Willian’s 94th-minute penalty, his second of the match, earned Fulham a dramatic 3-2 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Monday.
Alex Iwobi put Fulham ahead after seven minutes with a delicate finish, converting Antonee Robinson’s cutback through the legs of Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa from close range.
The visitors equalized in the 22nd minute after brilliant play from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who beat Robinson twice on the right before finding Matheus Cunha unmarked to nod home.
Fulham regained the lead in the 59th minute through Willian’s early penalty after a Nelson Semedo challenge on Tom Cairney was ruled a foul.
Hwang Hee-chan leveled the score again from the spot in the 75th minute for his seventh league goal of the season.
But Joao Gomes’ clumsy challenge on substitute Harry Wilson was awarded late as a penalty by VAR, with Willian sending Sa the wrong way and Craven Cottage in raptures.
The victory, the hosts’ first in five league matches, lifted Fulham to 14th in the table with 15 points. Wolves remain 12th on the same number of points.
Wolves have already been on the wrong side of VAR on several occasions this season and Wolves boss Gary O’Neil said Monday’s game could have “finally turned me against VAR”.
He told Sky Sports that he spoke to referee Michael Salisbury after the match and the official admitted he should have been sent to the VAR monitor over Fulham’s first penalty.
O’Neil also told reporters that he believed Tim Ream should have received a second yellow after giving away a penalty and that Fulham’s Carlos Vinicius should have been sent off for a header on Max Kilman.
“You could say two of them could be against us, but all four are going against us. It’s a difficult situation to accept for the guys, the fans and myself. We’ve been here a lot this season. We don’t deserve this,” O’Neil added.
Fulham boss Marco Silva told Sky Sports he thought the decisive third kick was “a clear penalty”, although he added “the first one for us and the one for them were a bit more soft”.
