Marco Silva believes Rodrigo Muniz is “getting better and better” after the Brazilian striker inspired Fulham to an impressive win over Brighton.
Muniz scored his fifth Premier League goal in five games with a confident header after his assist for Harry Wilson’s long-range effort gave Fulham a deserved lead at Craven Cottage.
Adama Traoré came on as a substitute in the four added minutes of the second half and opened his goal of the season.
Silva praised Muniz’s performance in recent weeks, which has resulted in on-loan Armando Broja not starting.
“Those were great performances. Rodrigo is getting better and better,” Silva said. “He’s getting stronger and stronger, which is really hard for defenders to deal with. We know he’s really dangerous when we feed him in the penalty area.
“We expected Brighton to play man to man all over the pitch and put us under pressure and we knew we had to operate behind that pressure. It’s really important to have a player like Rodrigo who connects our game and builds our attack.
“The way he is improving in all aspects of the game is really good for us and for him. He’s a happy boy, as you’d expect, and I think there’s more to come from him.”
Fulham’s early pressure was rewarded in the 21st minute when Muniz flipped Lewis Dunk into the air and flicked the ball into the path of Wilson, who fired a shot into the top corner. Wilson returned the favor 13 minutes before halftime when he flicked the ball to Muniz’s head to increase the lead.
Wilson and Muniz’s partnership continued to trouble Brighton in the second half, but it was Traoré who took the points in stoppage time when he broke through before powering emphatically past Jason Steele.
The win was Fulham’s first back-to-back wins since December following their 2-1 victory over Manchester United last week.
Silva believes his team’s triumph was a reward for the will of his players. “I’m really happy because we earned the three points by conceding a goal. Getting two wins in a row in the Premier League is really tough and we wanted to get back to winning ways after the game against Aston Villa (2-1 defeat).
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“We have shown quality, commitment and a willingness to do the right things and that is positive. The first half was almost perfect. They didn’t create a single chance and we consistently converted the goals we scored.”
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Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi claimed his side lacked the energy they needed as their hopes of a top-six finish suffered a further blow with their disappointing FA Cup exit to Wolves in midweek.
De Zerbi said: “In the Premier League you have to give 100% and you can’t play at 50 or 60%. “I think we didn’t play well and didn’t deserve to win the game. Fulham played a good game but they weren’t incredible. It’s a tough moment for us.”
