Marco Silva was very satisfied with Fulham’s afternoon in Stratford, as we claimed a 2-0 win over West Ham United.
It was a very strong performance from the Whites, who registered 10 shots on target throughout the game, as we moved onto 42 points for the season.
“Great win for us,” Silva said. “Well played from ourselves and, to be honest, I think we really deserved the three points.
“I have to say that, first 10 minutes, West Ham started better than us, they had a good chance to score in a moment that we should have defended better in that situation.
“But after that, when we scored the first goal, we started to control the game in a different way and we got the confidence.
“Overall during the match, we scored twice but created much more chances to score as well. Of course, West Ham had their chances.
“It’s really difficult to come here and to have the capacity to control them and to leave the London Stadium with a clean sheet, with the power they have in their attack line, all the individual players they have in the attack line as well.
“I think we were solid, we were compact, we kept the concentration most of the time. And when this happens we know the quality that we have, the way we play. We were solid, and most of the our transitions, our counter attacks, they were really good.
“Being more clinical, with more killer instinct, we should have scored more goals and been even more comfortable to win this game.”
Andreas Pereira’s brace saw him treble his goal tally for the season, and Silva admitted that getting the playmaker higher up the pitch was a key part of the gameplan.
“This afternoon, the plan was clear for him,” he explained. “We said for him to never be behind the two midfielders from West Ham, we wanted him always in the pockets in between the lines.
“About him arriving more in certain areas, it’s something that we have demanded from him. Before Andreas joined our football club, he was playing much more as a second midfielder, at Man United in some moments, sometimes as a wide player as well, in the other spells that he had around Europe as well, even in Flamengo in Brazil he played always as a second midfielder.
“Since he joined ourselves, he has been clearly in a different line, much more as an offensive midfielder there in the pockets, and that is something that we have been working with him on, to arrive more in certain positions.
“He's probably one of the players in this league with more assists and all that stuff, he's really strong in set-pieces, too. In our team he's clearly a player with more assists, [but] sometimes you have to be more decisive when you play in that role in the team, score more goals as well.
“And I’m really pleased to see him arrive in certain areas that are important, the way he believed in the first goal that the second ball would come for him, and of course the composure in that finish was really good.
“And the way he arrived inside the box for the second goal, really pleased to see, because it's something that we demand from them and we push them to do it, but of course when the things are happening in the game, it makes them believe more and for sure it’s going to be important for Andreas.”
