Newcastle United suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season as Fulham secured all three points at Craven Cottage.
Two first-half goals put the Cottagers into an early lead, before Harvey Barnes gave the Magpies hope that a comeback could be on.
With just a minute left, Reiss Nelson scored Fulham’s third in what was another disappointing display from Eddie Howe’s side.
Several members of the starting XI were far from good enough to ensure Newcastle came away from London with all three points, including Kieran Trippier.
Kieran Trippier’s game in numbers vs Fulham
The right-back was making his second start – and first in the league – of the 2024/25 campaign, but his lack of match action clearly took its toll in what was a poor performance.
The Englishman failed to offer much going forward, making zero key passes, creating no big chances while not even completing a successful dribble attempt.
Kieran Trippier’s game in numbers vs Fulham | |
|---|---|
Assists | 0 |
Key passes | 0 |
Big chances created | 0 |
Possession lost | 7 |
Total duels (won) | 6 (3) |
Dribble attempts (successful) | 0 |
Defensively, Trippier won just three of his six attempted duels, lost possession seven times and was dribbled past twice during his time on the pitch.
He looks a shadow of his former self and this display will have affected his confidence, no doubt about that, having withdrawn in the closing stages for young Tino Livramento.
Despite this showing, Anthony Gordon arguably delivered an even worse display, especially considering how good he has been of late.
Anthony Gordon’s performance vs Fulham
The winger scored against Bournemouth a few weeks ago but has gone scoreless since for the Magpies.
Expected to cause the Fulham defence plenty of problems alongside Barnes on the opposite flank, it was the former Leicester City player who delivered the goods, as Gordon struggled to get into the game.
When on the ball, his passing was poor, completing just 16 of his 22 attempts, although he did make two key passes during the game. He did deliver four crosses into the opposition penalty area, but only two were accurate.
The 44-touch gem did look to take the Fulham defence on, attempting three dribbles, yet he managed to succeed just once, showing how poor he was in the final third.
Defensively, Gordon lost possession a staggering 16 times during the game, along with winning just four of his ten ground duels, as the Fulham players triumphed more often than not in their one-on-one battles with him.
The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder gave him a match rating of just 4/10, while stating that it was simply ‘not his day’ as he had ‘no joy on either flank’, before being replaced by summer signing William Osula late on.
Howe will be hoping this display, not only from Gordon, will be a one-off as they look to return to the European places by the end of the season.
Chalkboard
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