Rodrigo Muniz continues hot streak to douse Brighton’s European ambitions
Marco Silva believes Rodrigo Muniz is getting “better and better” after the Brazilian forward inspired Fulham to an impressive win over Brighton.
Muniz claimed his fifth Premier League goal in five games with a clinical header which came after his assist for Harry Wilson’s long-range strike had given Fulham a deserved lead at Craven Cottage.
Adama Traoré came off the bench to open his account for the season during four added minutes in the second half.
Silva lauded Muniz’s impact in recent weeks which has kept loan signing Armando Broja out of the starting XI.
“They were great performances. Rodrigo is getting better and better,” Silva said. “He’s getting stronger which is really difficult for the defenders to deal with. We know that if we provide for him inside the box then he’s really dangerous.
“We expected Brighton to play man on man across the pitch and to press us and we knew we had to play behind that pressure. To have a player like Rodrigo to link up our game and build our attack is really important.
“The way he’s improving in all aspects of the game is really good for us and for him. He’s a happy boy, as you’d expect, and I think there’s even more to come from him.”
Fulham’s early pressure was rewarded in the 21st minute when Muniz hustled Lewis Dunk in the air, knocking the ball into the path of Wilson who curled a shot into the top corner. Wilson repaid the favour 13 minutes before the interval when he curled the ball on to the head of Muniz to double the lead.
The partnership of Wilson and Muniz continued to trouble Brighton in the second half but it was Traoré who wrapped up the points in stoppage time when he burst clear before finishing emphatically past Jason Steele.
The victory marked Fulham’s first back-to-back wins since December after last week’s 2-1 victory over Manchester United.
Silva believes his side’s triumph was reward for the desire his players displayed. “I’m really happy because we deserved the three points with a clean sheet. To have back-to-back wins in the Premier League is really tough and we wanted to get back to winning ways after the Aston Villa match (2-1 defeat).
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“We showed quality, commitment and desire to do the right things and that’s positive. The first half was almost perfect. They didn’t create one chance and we were clinical with the goals we scored.”
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The Brighton manager, Roberto De Zerbi, claimed his side played without the right energy as their hopes of a top six finish suffered a further blow on the back of a disappointing exit from the FA Cup against Wolves in midweek.
De Zerbi said: “In the Premier League you need to push 100% and you can’t play with 50 or 60%. I think we didn’t play well and that we didn’t deserve to win the game. Fulham played a good game but they were not incredible. For us it’s a tough moment.”