Arbeloa proud of Fulham response after conceding ‘unbelievable’ goal against Newcastle

Fulham manager Alvaro Arbeloa hailed his side’s response to going a goal down late on against Newcastle to bounce back after conceding ‘another amazing goal.’

Jacob Murphy’s incredible solo effort in the 80th minute seemed destined to bring an end to Fulham’s three-game unbeaten run in a game of very few clear-cut chances.

But just three minutes later, Fulham were able to come up with the goods after Cesar Palacios’ pass managed to find its way through to substitute Rodrigo Muniz, whose effort deflected off the foot of Dan Burn and into the back of the net.

The draw ensured that Fulham went into the international break off the back of a four-game unbeaten run as Arbeloa continues to ease the pressure on him.

It was not a win for the Cottagers, but it was another positive result and Arbeloa was pleased with that against a Newcastle side for whom the match was clearly very important.

“You always want to win, especially at home. We knew how difficult it was going to be against Newcastle and you could feel from the start that, for them, it was like a final,” he said.

"They were very, very aggressive. They're a very physical team, they were marking us man-to-man.

“I think we did a very good first half, we controlled the game, had very good chances but the second half was more open, chances for both teams.”

Arbeloa could not believe that his side were once again the victims of an excellent goal, a week after Nicolas Jackson scooped the ball up from deep and dribbled his way to the back of the net for Aston Villa.

Murphy this time picked up a loose Palacios pass just inside Fulham’s half and drove forward, deciding to shoot with his left foot from outside the box.

It was an effort that was going in as soon as it left his boot and Arbeloa was stunned that his side had once again been hit by a top quality effort.

"It's unbelievable because we concede another amazing goal from outside the box, with the left foot, it's incredible.

“But we responded really, really well and could draw the game and have another good chance with Ryan Sessegnon.

"It's another point, we wanted to win the game but it is what it is and we need to continue working hard."

The Sessegnon effort that Arbeloa is referring to came in stoppage time, with the left back, who returned to the team for the first time since receiving a three-match ban for a straight red card against Hull, hitting a piledriving effort that was brilliantly saved by Lukas Hornicek in the Newcastle goal.

It is a marked difference from how the Cottagers felt going into the last international break just under two months ago, despite the result being the exact same.

Then, Fulham had picked up just two points from their first five matches and were left frustrated after a late Matheus Cunha effort rescued a draw for Manchester United at Craven Cottage.

That left them in 20th, with only Tottenham and Bournemouth also winless.

But, having picked up two wins, two draws and losing just once in the next batch of matches, they have now risen to 15th.

Some tough tests come next, against Manchester City, Bournemouth and Tottenham, but Fulham will believe that they are in a far better place than they were six weeks ago.