Fulham manager Marco Silva and midfielder Alex Iwobi have praised Samuel Chukwueze after the Nigerian winger delivered a stunning two-goal cameo in the club’s pulsating 5–4 defeat to Manchester City, Footynaija.com reports.
Chukwueze, who joined Fulham on loan from AC Milan in the summer, came off the bench to score his first Premier League goals and almost dragged the Cottagers to an unlikely comeback from 5–1 down at Craven Cottage.
Iwobi had already struck with a composed finish to make it 5–2 before Chukwueze took control of the final half-hour with the sharpness and unpredictability that earned him admiration across Europe.
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Although Fulham fell short, Silva said the 25-year-old had already shown enough quality to suggest he will be central to the club’s plans.
“He’s already making an impact. Last Saturday, he did it,” Silva said at the post-match press conference.
“As a part of our plans and from the physical point of view, we decided to manage him because he had his first almost 90 minutes against Tottenham. Of course, we put him on the bench. We wanted to play with ESR and Alex there, almost without a winger, with Alex and Sander in the middle.
“The impact was massive from him again.
“Chukwu is just showing his quality; he has quality on the right and on the left. He can make the right decisions as well. He’s getting better and better.
“Unfortunately, we’re going to lose him in 15 days time (for the AFCON) like it was three times in the last three months, but it is what it is, and till then we have to get the best from him and let’s hope we can do it on Sunday again.”
Iwobi, who assisted Chukwueze’s form in training long before his Premier League breakthrough, echoed the manager’s praise.
“I mean, his nickname at the training ground is Chukwu-magic, and you can see when he’s in training, he pulls off some crazy stuff,” he said.
“Most importantly, he’s doing it on the pitch and adding that end product by scoring goals. Of course, we need everyone, but he’s one player we should keep an eye on. I like to just feed him the ball because I know he’s going to create something, and the fans will take it to him, so, as long as he keeps his head down and stays consistent, we’ll always back him.”
City had looked certain to run away with the match after goals from Erling Haaland, Tijani Reijnders and Phil Foden put them 3–0 up before Emile Smith Rowe pulled one back on the stroke of half-time.
Foden made it 4–1 early in the second half, and a Sander Berge own goal made the contest look beyond Fulham. But Iwobi’s strike and Chukwueze’s electric brace turned the final stages into a gripping contest as Pep Guardiola’s side clung on for all three points.
