Fulham 0-1 Crystal Palace: Two steps forward, one big step back as familiar feeling hits Cottagers

After back-to-back Premier League wins against Hull and Coventry, it seemed that Fulham had turned a corner.

And that led to a confident feeling that Fulham were going to finally end their curse against Crystal Palace and advance to the quarter-final stage of the Carabao Cup.

Not only did they not do that, but it was also the overwhelming feeling of two steps forward and one giant step backwards for Fulham.

The Cottagers had 74% possession, 2.19xG, 14 shots, four big chances, nine corners and made 789 passes to Palace’s 280.

And yet, they lost 1-0.

Alvaro Arbeloa must have had a sense of immense frustration, as he will surely feel like he did enough to coach a team to a win here.

But just as had happened two weeks ago at Craven Cottage against Hull when holding on for a 1-0 win, Fulham created far more than they were able to put in the back of the net.

That day, of course, it did not matter, and they were able to secure the three points regardless of their incapability in front of goal.

It was a similar story, though, on a day when Fulham should have won 4-0, and Arbeloa would have received significantly more plaudits than he has done.

But, for whatever reason, there is a collective inability to finish amongst the Cottagers squad.

Kenny Tete, Antonee Robinson and Joachim Andersen are not natural finishers, but between them they all had massive chances.

Alex Iwobi, the one player who was able to put the ball in the back of the net against Hull, inexplicably failed to do so from all of a yard against Palace. 

And there was also yet another big opportunity for Gonzalo Garcia, who once again showed that his finishing credentials are not what we perhaps expected them to be when he made the move to Fulham from Real Madrid.

All in all, it really was a case of two steps forward for Fulham, with the wins over both Hull and Coventry, and one giant step back against Crystal Palace.

If Fulham are to stay in the Premier League, they will likely do so due to their increasingly strong defence.

If Fulham are to achieve anything else this season, they will need to find out how to make their dominance turn into goals and more comfortable wins.

It still feels as though Fulham are close to cracking the code, but they need someone to find some confidence in front of goal, or this season could become hugely frustrating.