Joachim Andersen said Fulham’s plan ‘worked to perfection’ in their 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday as the club kept their second straight clean sheet to leave them on the brink of the European places.
Joachim Andersen said Fulham’s plan ‘worked to perfection’ as they defeated Aston Villa 1-0.
The Cottagers needed to win to keep alive their hopes of European football and were successful after Ryan Sessegnon’s goal late in the first half.
It boosted Fulham’s chances of reaching the European stage for the first time since 2012, lifting them up to 10th in the table.
Now they are level on points with Chelsea in eighth place, for the final European spot and just a point behind Bournemouth, who occupy the final Europa League place in seventh.
With four games to go, Fulham are now very much in the mix to take one of the remaining three spots.
And that was largely down to captain Andersen, who was a significant presence in ensuring Fulham kept their second consecutive clean sheet.
The Dane was awarded player of the match after he made more tackles, blocks and ball recoveries than any other player on the pitch.
And, following the victory over Villa, Andersen revealed that the preparation for the match was one of perfection.
He said: “Unbelievable day, the whole week has been unbelievable weather.
“Great to see the fans, great to make them happy today and I think we did exactly what we wanted.
“Our plan worked to perfection and I think it was a top game for us.”
Fulham had kept six clean sheets in 31 matches before the international break.
But following it, they have kept two in three matches.
That is something that Andersen admits his team have been working on as they look to close in on the European places.
The Dane told TNT Sports that the team had discussed their aims for this stage of the season in pre-season and have found themselves exactly where they want to be with four matches to go before the season comes to an end.
He said: “It is something we work hard on, something we have to improve on.
“We need that fundamental to be solid, not to concede goals and that will help the team.
“It is what we play for, we put ourselves in this position.
“We asked where we wanted to be at this stage of the season and we in a good place with four games to go and one point off seventh, so we are in a good place.”
Fulham end the season with four huge matches against Arsenal, Bournemouth, Wolves and Newcastle - each of which could provide the right points to win enter European competition next season.