Fulham remain winless in the Premier League under Alvaro Arbeloa after Ipswich stung them with two late goals in a 2-1 win.
The game was there for the taking for the visitors after Ryan Sessegnon fired them into a lead but Abdoul Ouattara equalised on 88 minutes before Dara O’Shea completed the turnaround in stoppage time for Town.
It would have eased the pressure on Arbeloa, but the Spaniard watched his team collapse after missing chances to seal the points when 1-0 up but Gonzalo Garcia and Oscar Bobb both squandered big opportunities.
After a low-quality first-half, Sessegnon controlled Diop’s clearance and rifled the ball into the bottom corner from 25 yards to trigger the game into life. Three minutes later both teams squandered chances with Emersonn heading against a post from six yards for Ipswich after a wonderful Julio Enciso cross before Oscar Bobb blazed over.
Arbeloa was minutes away from a first league win but Ouattara produced a 30-yard thunderbolt into the bottom corner after 88 minutes before O’Shea headed home Clarke’s free-kick in the first minute of stoppage time.
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Ipswich Town’s Abdoul Ouattara scores their equaliser
For newly promoted Ipswich they picked up their third win of the Premier League campaign.
Fulham will spend another week in the relegation zone with only two points from six league games and they are now seven points behind Ipswich.
The key moments from Portman Road…54: BIG CHANCE! After a poor-quality opening half, Fulham up the intensity and Josh King finds Gonzalo inside the box but his strike is blocked behind by Issa Diop.55: GOAL! Sessegnon picks up a loose ball on the edge of the box and cracks a wonderful strike into the far corner.58: EMERSONN HITS THE POST! A cross from the left presents Emersonn with a chance from point-blank range but his header comes crashing back off the post.59: BOBB MISSES SITTER! Fulham counter and Bobb swivels past Leif Davis but blazes over from 12 yards out.88: GOAL! With Fulham retreating Ipswich put the pressure on and Ouattara fires home from range.90+1: GOAL! O’Shea heads home as Fulham crumble under the Ipswich pressure.Premier League lessons to learn for Arbeloa
Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones:
Alvaro Arbeloa is going to have to learn quickly if he is to survive the Premier League.
Defeat at Ipswich was a painful reminder that managing at the highest level is about more than having a tactical plan. It is about understanding the physical demands of this league, recognising the momentum shifts and knowing when to make the right substitutions.
Fulham’s decision to retreat in the closing stages was almost Thomas Tuchel-esque in England’s approach against Argentina. The invitation was there for Ipswich to pile on the pressure, and they duly obliged, scoring twice late on to turn the game around. Just like Argentina did.
Bringing on the lightweight Manuel Ángel for a Premier League debut felt like a gamble at precisely the wrong moment. With Ipswich turning the contest into a physical battle, Fulham needed players capable of matching that intensity, winning second balls and relieving the pressure.
Instead, Ipswich’s power and directness came to the fore when it mattered most.
Arbeola on pressure: I like it
Fulham boss Alvaro Arbeloa:
“Maybe you don’t know me but I played for the best team in the world. I have coached the best team in the world. Maybe you don’t know but just to let you know that pressure is part of my life since I was a kid.
“So it’s normal in football, it’s normal for players, it’s normal for coaches, it’s normal for everybody that is around a team. I think pressure is something that is important for me and I like it.
“I don’t feel fear. You cannot be a coach if you feel it. I think you have to work, take your decisions and you need to show confidence to your players.
“For me I’m so happy with many things that they are doing. I know it’s not easy for them. It’s not about my position, it’s about the football club that is the most important thing.
“Obviously it’s just six games but it’s true that we need points and it’s a final next week at home. So for us it will be a massive day.”
O’Neil: We looked fitter than Fulham
Ipswich boss Gary O’Neil:
“Of the result, proud of the players. Proud of the way we finished the game. It showed exactly what we are – really together, hardworking, have quality and never going to stop; just keep going.
“We looked fitter than the opposition I thought in the last 20 minutes. They looked like they were starting to tire, and we were able to keep pushing, the subs helped with that.
“So yeah, based off the result just proud of the players. They deserve massive credit for today because that Fulham side have been in the Premier League for a while now and for us to be able to compete with them the way we did today was impressive so I’m very proud of the group.
“We deserved to win today, I think throughout the 90 minutes. I thought it wasn’t a performance where we were sat hanging on or we were trying to nick something.
“I thought we were the better side. I thought being 1-0 down from a 30-yard strike with nothing really in it, was a tough blow for them.
“So when you play as well as we did and have as much control of the game as we did, you have to find a way take points from it.”
What the result means