Soccer Football - Premier League - Fulham v Leicester City - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - August 24, 2024 Fulham's Emile Smith Rowe scores their first goal past Leicester City's Mads Hermansen REUTERS/Toby Melville
LONDON (Reuters) -Goals by Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi gave Fulham a 2-1 home victory over promoted Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday.
Fulham deservedly took the lead in the 18th minute when Adama Traore played a superb through ball to midfielder Smith Rowe, who marked his Craven Cottage debut with a clinical left-footed finish.
Fulham's lead lasted only 20 minutes before centre back Wout Faes headed home from a Facundo Buonanotte corner to level it up for Leicester. Faes' goal was initially disallowed for offside but was awarded following a VAR review.
Iwobi restored Fulham's advantage in the 70th minute, however, as he beautifully controlled a long ball from left back Antonee Robinson before finishing with a left-foot shot to secure all three points for the hosts.
Fulham manager Marco Silva had named an unchanged side after their 1-0 loss at Manchester United last week, and they largely dominated against Steve Cooper's team.
Fulham could have been ahead much earlier after Faes' defensive error handed the ball to Traore, who moved it for Rodrigo Muniz, only for the Brazilian forward to send his shot over the bar.
Leicester rarely threatened Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno as they continue to search for their first win of the Premier League season, having drawn 1-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.
"Very important win, and I have to say big win for us, the first home game of the season is always important. We deserve the three points. I think the best team, in my opinion, won the game," Silva told reporters.
"The way we were so dominant, the way we started the game and arriving so many times inside their box, we should have created probably even more clear chances."
England international Smith Rowe joined Fulham from Arsenal this month for a reported club record fee of i27 million pounds ($35.7 million).
"It was really important for him to give us a bit more confidence, even if we know that he has all the confidence from ourselves," Silva said. "First home game and he scored with a good finish."
($1 = 0.7571 pounds)
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
