Watch out Unai Emery. Marco Silva is rapidly emerging as your main challenger for manager of 2023. The Emery fanclub will offer a compelling case otherwise, but has any coach excelled more than Fulham’s over the last 12 months?
After promotion last year, Silva preserved Fulham’s top-flight status without a reference to a survival fight – a stark contrast to all the others recently elevated from the Championship.
Now, on the back of several free-scoring performances, Silva has led the club to their first League Cup semi-final. All this despite losing his main striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.
“We achieved something the club never did in the past,” said Silva, proudly. “We want more but we are delighted with the moment we are living right now.”
There is no fuss, no self-publicity drive and no bitterness directed at those responsible for previous sackings from Silva, even at a venue where he evidently has a taste for the sweetest of victories.
There is some irony that Silva, one of the many ex-Everton managers of the Farhad Moshiri era, preserved a flawless Goodison record with the penalty shoot-out win. As Fulham’s coach, that is, this being his third successive triumph as a visitor.
He found the winning number in the penalty shoot lottery, outstanding defender Tosin Adarabioyo more decisive with the 16th spot kick than Amadou Onana when given the chance to inspire Everton celebrations with the 10th.
Sean Dyche was left to reflect on the small margins after Idrissa Gana Gueye’s sudden-death penalty struck the post. When an 86th minute Beto equaliser forced the shoot-out, it seemed the momentum had switched to the hosts. Even more so when Jordan Pickford saved Bobby Decordova-Reid’s penalty in the shoot-out.
Silva will testify to how unrecognisable Everton are; they have physicality and a military style drilling with the right players intuitively taking up the right positions. But Fulham possessed an extra touch of attacking panache to change the mood of the evening.
Willian seems to have been around for decades, yet occasionally still looks like an emerging youngster when in his stride, his first touch and weight of passing a work of art. His departure on 61 minutes due to smack on the cheekbone following a collision with Nathan Patterson forced the exit of the game’s true class act.
The Brazilian almost struck first with a clever free kick on 40 minutes, tricking a jumping wall with a low shot inches wide.
Less than 30 seconds later he was teeing up the overlapping left back Antonee Robinson whose cross deflected off Michael Keane past Pickford.
Not for the first time this season, nor against the same opponent, Dyche was wondering how his side had conspired to fall behind given their general excellence.
Dwight McNeil has never looked sharper, Jack Harrison has the admirable quality of taking the maxim ‘try, try and try again’ to extreme levels of resolve – an utter menace to his marker – and James Garner ensures there is technique to balance the athleticism in Everton’s midfield.
With a consistent cutting edge, Everton would be thinking of European qualification despite their Premier League punishment.
And with a more emphatic penalty from Onana, they would be still dreaming of Wembley.
“If you are brave enough to take one you have to be brave with the consequences,” reflected Dyche.
Rather than a 10-point penalty from the administrators, it was two tame penalties from their players that cost Everton this time.