Derby County boss Phillip Cocu told RamsTV how Fulham are the best team in the Championship and praised their talent in possession following Tuesday’s defeat.
The Rams suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Craven Cottage.
(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images).
Goals from Bobby Reid, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Tom Cairney sealed all three points for Fulham in a game where they were rarely troubled by the Rams.
Cocu admitted his team struggled to compete with the west London side.
We have to accept Fulham was better than us. They played a really good game, especially the first half. It was difficult to stop them. What I saw until now in the league, on the ball when they have possession, they are the best team. They can play from the back. They have speedy wingers and they have a striker who can keep the ball and be clever. Our defence struggled a lot.
Fulham dominated the Rams for the majority of the 90 minutes.
In Mitrovic, Ivan Cavaleiro, Anthony Knockaert, Bobby Reid and Aboubakar Kamara the Cottagers have over £60 million worth of attacking talent at their disposal. Moreover, they’re backed up by the likes of Tom Cairney and Stefan Johansen – two quality midfield operators.
Fulham’s squad is the envy of most in the Championship. But it’s also the way they dominate the ball and move opponents about which is impressive.
Derby simply struggled to contain them. When the press was on, Fulham found ways out and their two wide players had the freedom to push up and attack at will.
(Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images).
Fulham enjoyed 62% of the possession and had 17 shots to Derby’s eight.
The win momentarily moves Scott Parker’s side up to third in the Championship table with Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion currently occupying the top two spots.
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