Fulham were beaten again in the Premier League - what did we learn at the Stadium of Light?
Fulham came unstuck against Sunderland in their second Premier League clash of the 2026/27 season at the Stadium of Light.
Wilson Isidor’s goal in the 75th minute proved enough to hand the Black Cats a valuable victory and ensure that Fulham join the unwanted club of sides with zero wins to their name.
The Cottagers were also beaten by Chelsea earlier this week in what has been a tough start to Premier League managerial life for Alvaro Arbeloa.
But, with another 90 minutes of football under our belts, we learned some lessons about where Fulham are heading under the Spaniard - what were those lessons?
This is going to be a marathon, not a sprint for Fulham
This is arguably not something we have learned but something that we already knew; however, Fulham’s start to the season has certainly not allowed us to forget it.
The Cottagers are going to take some time to get used to the changes that have taken place, both off the field and on it.
Arbeloa is no magician, his style of play is drastically different from that of Marco Silva.
Gonzalo Garcia has also got to get used to the pace of the Premier League and even the players who are used to the demands of the league are now playing under a different manager.
It will take time for Fulham to showed marked improvement, the issue, as ever, is that time is not your friend in the Premier League.
Alex Iwobi a step up from the rest
On a day when a large group of the Fulham squad flattered to deceive, Alex Iwobi was one who put his hand up and showed what he is capable of.
The Nigerian midfielder was at his consistent best once again and should have got an assist in the first half with his lovely clipped ball over to Josh King, whose touch was poor and finish even worse.
On another day, there are several people singing the praises of Iwobi, but that day was not today, due to the result.
After the losses of Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez, Iwobi certainly looks set to be the talisman of this team and he showed those credentials today.
Same problems crop up for Fulham
Fulham had more than enough ball to win this game; in fact, they dominated the ball in the second half in particular.
Yet, almost impressively, when Fulham have more ball, they currently seem less likely to actually score.
That is not what Arbeloa will like to see, nor will he like the fact that Fulham’s goals seem to always come from the same source.
The Cottagers need to work on how they deal with the Spaniard’s new tactics on both sides of the ball as losing it in dangerous areas is causing them serious problems, as is the lack of creativity in the final third.
