Arsenal old boys hand Fulham lift-off as Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi strike against Leicester

Smith Rowe’s goal came on his home debut to help Fulham on their way to a deserved victory against promoted opponents

It was the Arsenal old boys that got Fulham out of jail at Craven Cottage, as chances went begging in the rain.
Former Arsenal winger Alex Iwobi scored the winning goal with a 70th minute drive to deservedly earn Fulham their first points of the season, after Fulham’s latest recruit from north London Emile Smith-Rowe’s early strike had been cancelled out by Wout Faes’ header.
But it was a win which was hard-earned, as a host of chances were missed, with Rodrigo Muniz the main culprit.
Leicester created very little, and manager Steve Cooper will be worried by his side’s lack of punch, even though it is early days in this campaign.
Fulham started at a frantic pace, and Leicester were grateful to goalkeeper Mads Hermansen after only three minutes, when the Dane superbly turned away Adama Traore’s thunderous angled shot.
Cooper’s team were pinned back in the early stages, but then former Fulham forward Bobby De Cordova Reid almost caught out his old side when he produced a stinging drive that Bernd Leno had to turn round the post.
But the breakthrough that Fulham needed came deservedly in the 19th minute, when Traore burst infield and fed Smith-Rowe, and the £27 million summer signing from Arsenal in the summer advanced before slotting the ball coolly past Hermansen.
Fulham manager Marco Silva said: “It was an important goal for Emile, We bought him to make an impact. We deserved the win – we were the better team.”
It should have been 2-0 a minute later, when Antonee Robinson’s cross from the left found Muniz, but the striker somehow managed to head wide from six yards.
It was an escape that Leicester quickly took advantage of. From Facundo Buonanotte’s corner, Faes headed home. At first the goal was disallowed for offside – but referee Darren Bond consulted VAR and the goal was rightly given.
Brazilian striker Muniz had a frustrating afternoon. He should have put Fulham back in front just after half time when he astonishingly managed to scoop the ball over the bar from six yards after Faes had blundered.
He then fired a header just over, and an acrobatic bicycle kick also flew over. But just as Fulham looked to be running out of ideas, they grabbed their second goal.
Robinson’s superb first time pass put Iwobi away. His shot was fierce, but Hermansen will be disappointed he could do no more than deflect the ball into the net.
Cooper said: “The goals we conceded were examples of poor decision-making.”