Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo gave an insight into what defending against the extraordinary Erling Haaland is like, after his side fell to a 2-1 home defeat to Manchester City.
City leapfrogged Arsenal into top spot with the hard-fought win at Craven Cottage, which came courtesy of Haaland’s third-minute penalty and Julian Alvarez’s stunning winner. Carlos Vinicius had momentarily levelled for Marco Silva’s outfit, but to no avail.
Haaland’s spot-kick meant he matched Alan Shearer’s record for the most goals scored in by a player in a single Premier League campaign with 34, and he became the first top-flight player to hit 50 goals in a single season for 92 years.
“We were in the game throughout the entire 98 minutes, but obviously didn’t get the result,” Adarabioyo reflected.
Speaking about facing Haaland, he added: “It’s a very physical battle. He’s a strong and fast guy, so you have to know what you’re coming up against. Every forward has their qualities, and that [shooting with his first touch] is one of his qualities — everyone knows he can score.”
Tenth-place Fulham visit Liverpool on Wednesday, and Adarabioyo called on his team to move on from defeat to City, saying: “We’re going to have to forget about this game.”
Tim Ream went off injured in the first half with an arm injury, having fashioned his shirt into a makeshift sling.
It got worse for Silva in the second half when a long stoppage in play to treat Andreas Pereira culminated in the ex-Manchester United playmaker leaving the field on a stretcher with his right leg in a brace.
“We’ll have to wait and see for the results of what the injuries are, and we’ll see how they are,” Adarabioyo said. “They are two players who have featured in every single game this season, so that [says] everything about them being important players for us.”
