Silva: Smith Rowe fitness vital to 'ambitious' Fulham's European target

Fulham boss Marco Silva hailed Emile Smith Rowe as his goal set the Cottagers on course for a 2-0 Premier League win at Leicester City.

Silva's charges slipped to a midweek defeat at rivals West Ham United, which ended their eight-game unbeaten streak in league action, but Fulham rallied strongly at the King Power Stadium.

Smith Rowe's second-half goal gave the away side a platform to build on in the East Midlands before Adama Traore's volley sealed the victory late on.

Three points on the road moves Fulham up to ninth in the table with Silva not ruling out a possible push for European qualification for the first time since 2010-11.

Smith Rowe is beginning to flourish, as he proved to be the scourge of Leicester once again - he has now scored three goals against the Foxes, more than any other opponent.

A goal on his landmark 100th Premier League appearance will be a key boost, as he scored in successive games against Leicester this season, with all four of his league goals in 2024-25 coming as part of Fulham wins.

"We should have more points to be frank. I'm always ambitious, but performance wise, the way we've been playing and been dominant in most of our games - we should have more points. But, in the Premier League, the difference and details are so small, and sometimes they haven't been in our favour," Silva told BBC Sport.

Back on the scoresheet.pic.twitter.com/o5mqgQ6SRG

— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) January 18, 2025

"There have been some big improvements from last season, in terms of results and points, and we've performed better this season than some spells last season.

"We will fight for more because we are a really ambitious group. Emile Smith Rowe is a key player for us, and we have to keep him as fit as we can to help us keep on going.

Silva's optimism came in stark contrast to Ruud van Nistelrooy's post-match message as the Dutch coach looks to drag the Foxes away from relegation danger.

A seventh successive Premier League defeat keeps Leicester inside the relegation zone, in 19th place in the table and two points from safety, with Van Nistelrooy winning just one league game since his November arrival.

In fact, Leicester have failed to score in four consecutive home league games for the first time since September 1983 (a run of five) while they have drawn a blank in five of their nine Premier League games under Van Nistelrooy, after doing so in just one of their first 13 matches of the season under Steve Cooper/Ben Dawson.

The gap to survival remains within reach for Van Nistelrooy, but he admitted to concern over fans growing disillusioned, with a battle incoming, ahead of trips to Tottenham and Everton.

"We deserved to be beaten, Fulham were the better team. We were disappointed in all aspects of the game. This is the first game I've felt like this. In the other games I felt there was enough to get a result and today there wasn't," he told BBC Sport.

"It's up to us as players and me as the manager to bring this forward now. It is clear we need to bring hope back for the fans and that starts with us. It is our responsibility to work hard, do better and move on from there."