Is Alvaro Arbeloa to blame for Fulham's defeat to Crystal Palace, or have players let him down?

The positivity surrounding Fulham came to a grinding halt on Wednesday night, when the Cottagers fell to a 1-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Crystal Palace.

Having beaten both Hull and Coventry in the Premier League, it seemed as though things were turning around at Craven Cottage, and there was some genuine hope and excitement coming into the game against Palace.

Fulham were out of the relegation zone, Arsenal had been knocked out of the competition in a shock defeat to Fleetwood, and it seemed as though there were genuine reasons to be happy for Cottagers’ fans.

And, against Crystal Palace, Fulham did more than enough to win the game and advance to the quarter-finals of the competition.

But, somehow, once again they did not do enough, and it was the Eagles who advanced to the last eight, not Fulham.

This was a match that had a very similar feeling around it to that of the match against Hull, in which Fulham were totally dominant for significant portions of the match but were unable to show that on the scoresheet, eventually holding out for a 1-0 triumph.

But the question, just like it was that day against Hull, remains, is Alvaro Arbeloa to blame for this result or have the players let him down?

If you look at both the match itself and the statistics, it is very difficult to come up with any answer that is not the latter.

Fulham had, I counted, five golden opportunities to score, with the statisticians noting down four big chances.

A total of 74% possession and 14 shots to four also suggests that what Arbeloa has coached here is a win, and a comfortable one at that.

And, let’s not forget, it was effectively the exact same story against Hull; just on that day, Fulham were able to come away with a hugely important 1-0 win.

That was also a win for Fulham, which came against all odds, with a background of there being significant pressure on the Cottagers and on Arbeloa.

Against Coventry, Fulham did brilliantly to come away with an away win for the first time since last season.

The conditions were horrible, and the goal from Oscar Bobb was hugely impressive.

Against Palace, Fulham should have come out comfortable victors but failed to make the most of Arbeloa’s game plan.

Should results go against him against Aston Villa and Newcastle, pressure will build on the Spaniard once more, but it is the players who should be taking accountability for what was a desperately disappointing evening.