3 things we clearly learnt about Fulham after 4-1 win v Barnsley | OneFootball

Fulham managed to secure another highly impressive victory on Saturday as they ran out 4-1 winners against struggling Barnsley at Craven Cottage.

Marco Silva’s side went into the game knowing that a win would see them move to the top of the Championship table with AFC Bournemouth not playing until midday on Sunday against Derby County. That is something that Fulham were able to do in convincing style as they once again underlined their promotion credentials.

It was always going to be an excellent chance for Fulham to add to their goals and wins tally this season in the Championship facing a Barnsley side that were in their last game under caretaker manager Joseph Laumann. Silva’s side were certainly able to make it a difficult match for new Barnsley boss Poya Ashbaghi to watch before he takes permanent charge.

So, with Fulham securing another excellent result against Barnsley on Saturday, we take a look at THREE things we clearly learnt about Silva’s side…

After Fulham suffered a 4-1 defeat away at Coventry City at the beginning of October they dropped down to 5th place in the Championship table.

It looked as though Silva was facing a lot of issues to resolve to get his squad in a position to really challenge for the league title and for automatic promotion this term.

However, since then Silva has managed to get his side to become the in-form team in the Championship. Bringing Marek Rodak into the starting line-up has obviously made a major impact. Fulham have now conceded just two goals in their last seven games following their 4-1 win against Barnsley.

The victory against Barnsley was another emphatic one for Fulham after their recent big wins against QPR, Nottingham Forest, West Brom and Blackburn Rovers.

It is a sequence of results and performances that is making Silva’s side look like a team that are capable of running away with one of the two automatic promotion places.

The win for Fulham, coupled with West Brom losing 1-0 at Huddersfield Town means that they are now nine points clear of third place. It looks as though it is going to be a straight battle between them and Bournemouth for the title, and it is difficult to see any other sides catching them at this rate.

Neeskens Kabano continues to prove his importance

The likes of Harry Wilson, Fabio Carvalho and Aleksander Mitrovic are rightly getting the plaudits for their roles in Fulham’s promising start to the Championship season.

However, one player that is perhaps impressing outside of that limelight and deserves more recognition for that at the moment is Neeskens Kabano.

Against Barnsley, Kebano was able to add his fourth goal of the season in the Championship with him finishing off Wilson’s delivery with 18 minutes remaining. While the attacker also managed to complete two successful dribbles and provided two key passes as he was a constant threat to the Tykes’ backline.

Kebano has now managed to register four goals and five assists in his 16 Championship appearances for Fulham. That is some going for a player that was deemed surplus to requirements last season by Scott Parker and allowed to leave on loan to Middlesbrough in the second half of the campaign.

If the winger can continue to deliver these sorts of performances on a consistent basis for the rest of the campaign then Fulham will have more than enough firepower to sustain their excellent recent form.

Silva made the decision to leave Fabio Carvalho out of the starting line-up for Fulham’s 1-0 win at Peterborough United before the international break. That came after he made his return to action in the two previous matches against West Brom and Blackburn.

Carvalho managed to provide a reminder of his quality for Fulham and he was constantly involved in some of their best-attacking moves. Overall, he managed to provide three key passes and also completed three successful dribbles, while he also was able to have 62 touches of the ball as he was a constant threat to Barnsley’s defence.

Considering Carvalho is attracting the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs this performance will only have drawn more attention to him. However, Fulham need to continue to do all that they can to keep hold of him and he could be the key to them sustaining their form during the rest of the campaign.