Marco Silva saw plenty to be happy about in Fulham’s Summer Series opener against Brentford.
Lovely goals from Harry Wilson and Bobby De Cordova-Reid, plus a smart finish from Carlos Vinicius, saw the Whites secure a 3-2 victory against our local rivals.
“It was good, a really competitive match,” Silva told the media after the game. “I think the fans enjoyed it.
“It’s important for the players to get minutes in their legs to help them perform. Of course, it was very, very hot, difficult for both teams. It’s not easy to play here with this temperature, but it was the same for both teams.
“I saw good things, great goals, the first two goals were great goals. The way we started the first half was really good, really good.
“We expected strong pressure from a good Brentford side. The way we played through the pressure, we tried to beat the pressure every time, with enough courage to do it.
“I’m pleased with some of the things that I saw, there are things to improve, as always, and we have to keep going.”
On playing stateside, Silva commented: “It’s really nice. It’s a different pre-season.
“We knew that it would be different. I think it’s really good for the players to play this Summer Series against Premier League sides.
“If you play these types of games, with a different atmosphere in the stadium, it can help them, and help us as well as coaches. It was a good experience.”
One negative from our time in Philadelphia was a nasty looking injury suffered by João Palhinha.
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t look good,” Silva stated. “It’s serious, but let’s hope it’s not too serious.
“It’s his shoulder, probably dislocated. Tomorrow he’s going to do a scan and it will be more clear for me to update you on the situation.
“Let’s hope it’s not another long-term injury for us.”
A notable absentee from the matchday squad was Aleksandar Mitrović, but Silva did not have much new to report on the situation.
“I spoke with the Board – no updates about Mitrović,” he explained. “A player that is not training, and is not in the picture with his teammates, is not going to play.
“It’s easy for me to decide. If he trains with his teammates, he’s going to play matches. If he’s not training with his teammates, he’s not going to play.
“Of course, if Mitrović is my player I would like him to train, to be involved in all the moments with the team. You know that, that I would like to have him participating in all the moments with the team.”
