Vincent Kompany believes Rebecca Welch’s performance during Burnley’s 2-0 win over Fulham was a “milestone moment” after she became the first woman to take charge of a Premier League match on Saturday.
Wilson Odobert’s curled strike and Sander Berge’s magnificent solo effort confirmed Burnley’s first win since their 5-0 victory over Sheffield United on December 2.
Welch made history having previously refereed an FA Cup fixture in 2022 and an EFL match in 2021.
Kompany, who spoke to Welch at full-time, said: “I wanted to congratulate her because it’s a big moment.
“After the game it’s fair to say that it’s a milestone moment and may there be more, and the best thing will always be when someone is judged on merit.
“But you have to have a first and this is it, so well done (to her) and I’m happy to be part of this moment.”
Victory ended a run of three games without a win for Burnley, and Kompany credited his side’s decisions in key moments while also talking up Berge and Odobert’s quality for both of their goals.
He said: “It was a really good performance. In the key moments the team did well and we were able to remain dangerous in most phases of play whether we had the ball, defending, the loose balls.
“It helped us have a performance and gave us a chance.
“We shifted our feet quicker, we had the intent to go forward and be dangerous. When the ball gets to the final third, it’s the individual quality of the players and they did really well.”
The towering Berge received the ball on halfway and was not challenged by any Fulham player before he drove forward to add Burnley’s second.
It was a source of frustration for Fulham boss Marco Silva, who called on his Fulham to be more ruthless, admitting that the defending for Berge’s goal was not good enough.
He said: “It’s a disappointing result for us. We are not ruthless enough at this level and we were punished by that.
“We were dominant in the first half and we created chances and we should score.
“The second goal, it can not happen. We let the midfielder run with the ball without opposition. We were completely out of balance in that moment.”