Mousa Dembele played a pivotal role in Fulham’s 2-1 victory over Stoke this afternoon at Craven Cottage.
A debut strike from Pavel Pogrebnyak and a Thomas Sorensen own goal saw the Whites claim the three points, with Mousa taking on a deeper than expected central midfield role alongside Danny Murphy. The Belgian combined his usual technical flair with a dogged resilience to track back and was able to dictate the pace of the game at his pleasure.
“I like this position as well,” Mousa told fulhamfc.com. “I’m a player who wants to get the ball as much as possible so that’s why, for me, I hope I can do a good job for the team in that role.”
The win in SW6 ensured that Fulham leapfrogged their Staffordshire counterparts courtesy of a superior goal difference, in addition to steering clearer still from the relegation zone.
“Everybody says this was a very important game for us, with very important points,” Mousa said. “The Gaffer told us after the match that he was very happy. He told us that this was very important for Fulham so we’re all happy.”
The clash today was the first of many in the coming months against teams in close proximity to Fulham in the Barclays Premier League table, a fact that makes the win even more vital according to Mousa.
“This is a good start to the run ahead,” he explained. “If we’d lost today it would have been difficult when we play the other teams around us, QPR and the rest, so it’s good that we were able to get the points today.”