Marco Silva makes Fulham demand after Newcastle loss as he pinpoints key issue

Fulham manager Marco Silva has called for his team to sharpen up in front of goal following their narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United. Despite creating several clear-cut chances, Fulham failed to convert, with Andreas Pereira notably missing key opportunities, leading to their winless streak stretching to three games.

Silva reflected on the match, expressing his disappointment: «We had the chances. It was just a lack of better finishing in our attack to be honest. In terms of inspiration it was not the afternoon for our more decisive players.

»It is really important to be clinical when you create so many chances, when you are on the front foot for such a long time, when you have the momentum in the game. We should have scored one or two goals, at least. And if that type of thing happens, of course, it is impossible to guess what is going to happen.

«They tried to press us high but they were not able to do it. We built really well in that moment of the match to beat their first pressure, and it was up to us to create in the final third, but it was not our afternoon.»

After a strong start, Fulham couldn't maintain their dominance as Newcastle found their footing in the second half. Eddie Howe's squad initially thought they had broken the deadlock with Fabian Schar's effort, only for it to be ruled out by referee Sam Allison due to a foul by Dan Burn, before eventually clinching the late winner.

Silva acknowledged the change after halftime: «The second half was different,» he added. «Our possession was not so good.

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