What the papers say

The Sun reports that Chelsea are seeking contract extensions for midfielder Enzo Fernandez and winger Mykhailo Mudryk. The two 23-year-olds’ previous long-term deals would be extended by another year.

The Daily Mail reports that Liverpool are considering Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson as a potential replacement for Caoimhin Kelleher.

According to the Telegraph, ex-Chelsea and Everton boss Frank Lampard has dropped out of the running to become the new head coach of Canada’s national team.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Tosin Adarabioyo: Tottenham have made an offer to the Fulham defender, says Teamtalk, as they try to beat Manchester United in the race to sign the 26-year-old.

Viktor Gyokeres: Manchester United are keen on the Sweden striker from Sporting Lisbon but fear Liverpool may scupper their signing chances, reports HITC.

Djed Spence: Tottenham’s 23-year-old right-back is one of several senior players expected to leave the club this summer, claims Football Insider.

West Ham teenager George Earthy was taken to hospital after suffering a horror head injury just two minutes into his Premier League debut.

The 19-year-old had just come on as a substitute when he collided with team-mate Edson Alvarez in the middle of the field.

Earthy fell to the ground awkwardly and appeared to have been knocked out cold, sparking worrying scenes as medics and team-mates rushed to help the stricken youngster.

After receiving treatment for eight minutes, Earthy was carried off on a stretcher. He was conscious when he was taken out of the London Stadium in an ambulance around 20 minutes after full-time.

The Hammers said: “West Ham United can confirm George Earthy will undergo an assessment in a London hospital this evening following the incident which saw him stretchered off during today’s Premier League fixture against Fulham.

“The midfielder – who entered the field as a second half substitute to make his Premier League debut against the Cottagers – was taken off in stoppage time.”

Manager David Moyes said: “I am really disappointed for George. He has been doing really well in training, done really well for the Under-21s.

“He started well with the ball, had some really nice touches. He is fine. It is a head knock. He is awake and has gone to hospital, we think he is OK at the moment. We all thought he had been knocked out but I don’t know any more.”

The incident overshadowed a 2-0 victory for Fulham courtesy of two goals from Andreas Pereira.

It was a second blow to West Ham’s European hopes in the space of four days, following Thursday night’s 2-0 Europa League first-leg defeat at Bayer Leverkusen, as a win would have lifted them to sixth.

“I thought we started well and should have been one or two goals up before they scored,” added Moyes.

“We were caught out by a long ball, we didn’t deal with it well. And we missed some opportunities to score as well. I think we dominated possession, kept the ball and passed it quite well. But we got done on the counter-attack.

“I’m gutted, today was a great chance to go sixth with five games to go, what a great position to be in.”

For Fulham it was a first win in four matches, and a first at West Ham since 2001.

Boss Marco Silva said: “Great win for us, well played from ourselves and to be honest we deserved the three points.

“West Ham had a good chance to score but after that, we scored the first goal and started to control the game. Overall we scored twice but created more chances to score as well.

“I think we were solid, compact and kept our concentration. We should have scored more goals to be even more comfortable.”

West Ham’s European hopes suffered a second blow in the space of four days after a meek 2-0 home defeat by Fulham.

The Hammers were beaten 2-0 by Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday, leaving them with a mountain to climb in the return match.

They then blew the chance to climb up to sixth place in the Premier League, and right back into the European shake-up, after two Andreas Pereira goals secured a first win in four for Fulham.

It was the first time the Cottagers had won away to West Ham since 2001 and having dominated the reverse fixture 5-0 in December, they completed a league double over their London rivals for the first time since 1966.

Leverkusen will not be quaking in their boots on the evidence of this timid display.

Yet West Ham should have gone ahead in the opening moments when Lucas Paqueta’s ball over the top saw right-back Vladimir Coufal burst into the area.

His initial effort was repelled by Bernd Leno and when the ball rebounded to the feet of Michail Antonio, the striker blazed over from eight yards.

Mohammed Kudus then curled wide narrowly wide before the lively Paqueta, who is suspended against Leverkusen on Thursday night, hit the side-netting.

But despite their bright start, West Ham conceded to Fulham’s first attack after nine minutes, a goal which would have had manager David Moyes tearing his hair out.

Konstantinos Mavropanos tried to bring down a deep cross from Alex Iwobi but succeeded only in gifting the ball to Pereira, who had been given a free run by Nayef Aguerd.

The Brazilian had the simple task of knocking the ball past Hammers keeper Lukasz Fabianski and finishing into an empty net.

Pereira almost had a second moments later when he slid in to meet Willian’s inviting cross, but he guided it wide.

Coufal has yet to score for West Ham since joining three and a half years ago, and he illustrated why when he crashed a good opportunity wide from Paqueta’s cross.

After the break Fabianski made a big save to tip Iwobi’s shot wide, but he was powerless to prevent Pereira doubling the lead after 72 minutes.

Paqueta was robbed in midfield by Joao Palhinha and Pereira laid the ball off to Rodrigo Muniz. He played in Iwobi, who burst forward before crossing for Pereira to apply another simple finish.

A damaging defeat for the Hammers had a sad postscript when teenage substitute George Earthy had to be carried off on a stretcher after suffering a serious head injury in a collision with team-mate Edson Alvarez, just two minutes into his Premier League debut.

What the papers say

West Ham will join Liverpool, Tottenham and AC Milan in the hunt for 26 -year-old Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo, according to the Guardian. The former Manchester City player will be a free agent in summer, but Fulham are hoping to retain his services.

Football Insider says Chelsea are trying to secure the signature of Athletic Bilbao forward Nico Williams for £43million. The 21-year-old Spain international has scored six goals and had 14 assists for Athletic in all competitions this season.

Former Arsenal loanee Dani Ceballos is set to leave Real Madrid for rivals Atletico Madrid as he struggles for game time at the LaLiga leaders, the Sun reports. The 27-year-old Spain midfielder has played just 14 games for the Real Madrid in the league this season, mostly as a substitute.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Mohamed Salah: The 31-year-old Liverpool striker is set to be targeted once again by Saudi Pro League clubs this summer with Al Ittihad reportedly set to offer £70million for the Egypt star, Talksport says.

Lucas Paqueta: French media outlet L’Equipe says Manchester City have agreed to terms with the 26-year-old West Ham midfielder.

Eddie Howe credited a change in attitude from his Newcastle players after they claimed a 1-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Bruno Guimaraes arrived late at the edge of the box to smash home in the 81st minute, not long after referee Sam Allison had ruled their first strike out for a foul.

Howe’s side failed to get going in the first half but he lauded their shift in mentality during a break in play where goalkeeper Martin Dubravka received treatment.

“I’m relieved. It was a very difficult opening 25 minutes, we were second best, we suffered,” he said.

“A change of attitude from us made the difference, we were stretched and there are reasons why we weren’t at our best in the opening period but it was an incredible response and I think it was one of our best wins of the season.

“We needed to look at things differently, we were a little bit reactive, a little bit late on things and that’s not like us. We were lucky to come into half-time at 0-0 and that was another opportunity.”

Guimaraes’ strike put him on four for the campaign and the Brazil international battled during a scrappy affair in west London.

Howe talked up the midfielder’s efforts to help his side claim victory after their 1-1 draw with Everton last time out.

“I wax lyrical of him all the time and that’s because I genuinely feel it,” Howe added.

“He’s got an incredible personality and you could feel that today. He had the quality on the ball to help us win the game and I thought that was a really good performance from him.”

Marco Silva believes Newcastle told Dubravka to go down for “tactical” reasons after the Slovakian keeper required treatment on two occasions.

Silva said: “It was tactical. The first one is clear, there was feedback for the goalkeeper to go down. As you know, if the goalkeeper goes down the referee has to stop the game, there’s no way for the game to keep going, it’s a tactical decision from them. It is what it is.

“It’s a decision of Eddie (Howe).

“Newcastle tried to break our momentum with the goalkeeper (going down) twice on the grass, they were struggling in that moment and in moments of the first half.”

Howe acknowledged the injury allowed Newcastle to “refocus and regroup”, insisting the keeper had felt something in his leg.

He said: “Martin was feeling something in his leg. We said he has to go down if he’s feeling something so that gave us a chance to get the group in and that was much needed in that moment of the game.”

Bruno Guimaraes scored a late winner as Newcastle made Fulham pay for their missed opportunities in a 1-0 victory at Craven Cottage in the Premier League.

The Brazil international struck after 81 minutes on a day when both sides lacked cutting edge.

Victory for Newcastle extended Fulham’s winless run to three as they struggled to rediscover their March form which included a 3-0 home win over Tottenham.

After both sides took the knee before kick-off, Fulham started on the front foot as they searched for the opener.

Fulham returned to Craven Cottage after failing to pick up victories in their last two away from home and a neat bit of skill on halfway by Willian allowed them to counter, setting the tone for an improved performance in west London.

Marco Silva had blamed a lack of clinical finishing as the reason behind his side’s FA Cup exit to Newcastle in January and more of that was on display here.

After Joao Palhinha dragged his effort wide from six yards out, the unmarked Andreas Pereira squandered the chance of the match when he failed to connect with a close-range header from Antonee Robinson’s whipped delivery.

Newcastle had failed to get going and a slip from Guimaraes in possession had summed up their lacklustre half as Eddie Howe’s men looked to build off their 1-1 draw with Everton last time out.

United sought inspiration through Anthony Gordon, however. The tricky winger’s long-range effort whistled past the left-hand post towards the end of the first half and he started the second half with equal intensity.

Gordon, who will be amongst those in contention to feature in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for this summer’s Euros, cut in from the left on to his trusted right foot, forcing Bernd Leno into action as his curled strike was palmed away.

The hosts had not replicated the pressure from the first 20 minutes but a well-worked combination between eight-goal man Rodrigo Muniz and Pereira created a huge opportunity.

The Brazilian duo combined on the edge of the area with a neat one-two, with Muniz’s lay-off allowing Pereira’s left-footed attempt to test Martin Dubravka at his right-hand post.

Newcastle thought they had taken the lead through Fabian Schar but referee Sam Allison ruled it a foul after consulting the VAR monitor.

Dan Burn had used his forearm to shove Calvin Bassey to the floor in the build-up before the Swiss centre-back finished at the near post.

But Fulham’s blushes were not saved for long as Newcastle scored a legitimate goal after 81 minutes.

Harvey Barnes broke away down the left and his cross deflected off a white shirt perfectly into the path of the late arriving Guimaraes, who powered his first-time effort into the bottom left corner in front of the travelling supporters.

Eddie Howe is confident Newcastle’s ambition can keep the club’s sought-after big names on Tyneside.

Record signing Alexander Isak’s blistering run of goalscoring form has this week seen him linked with North London duo Arsenal and Tottenham, while Paris St Germain have repeatedly been touted as suitors for Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.

The Magpies’ hopes of securing a second successive season of Champions League football have been all but mathematically dashed during a campaign which has been littered with long-term injuries, but head coach Howe hopes the direction being taken by the club’s Saudi-backed owners will be enough to persuade his star men to stay with the project.

Asked if European qualification would help that process, he said: “It will help, but I don’t think it will be the defining factor. That’s in the players’ hands and the club’s hands. Europe would certainly help.

“A lot will depend on our ambitions and where the club is going to go in the foreseeable future. I don’t think one season necessarily dictates that, it’s the general feeling of where the club is going to go.

“We as a football club need to continue to push forward. You set your ambitions not just in terms of talking, but in actions, so we need to show to them that we are a club moving forward.”

Isak, who cost Newcastle £63million when he joined from Real Sociedad in 2022, will head for Fulham on Saturday with 19 goals to his name, while Guimaraes has established himself as a fans’ favourite at St James’ Park since his £35million capture from Lyon in January of the same year.

Both have become key figures in Howe’s strongest team, and the 46-year-old has little intention of letting either leave this summer despite the perception from outside the club that he may need to sell to comply with profit and sustainability rules.

Asked if he feared a transfer window of fending off approaches, he said: “I don’t fear that. In some senses, that’s what you want because it means your players are playing at a level that everyone appreciates and I want my players – all of them – to be playing above what they think they’re capable of being.

“So no, I don’t think fear is the right word. I want Alex to keep scoring goals, I want him to keep being in the headlines – I’m sure he wants the same thing – but we want to keep him long-term.”

On Guimaraes, he added: “Let me tell you, players like Bruno, they are not around every corner. They are very rare. Bruno should be appreciated for everything he brings. My intention would be to keep Bruno at the club for as long as we possibly can.

“I can never make guarantees though. That would be absolutely foolish of me. We have been in football long enough to know you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow.”

Nuno Espirito Santo hailed the importance of Morgan Gibbs-White after he inspired Nottingham Forest to a vital 3-1 win over Fulham.

Gibbs-White put in a virtuoso display in a golden first half which saw Forest cruise into a 3-0 lead.

After setting up Callum Hudson-Odoi’s opener, he watched as Chris Wood made it 2-0 before completing the scoring with a fine finish on the stroke of half-time.

“Morgan is a very special player for us,” the Portuguese said.

“Very important, talented, the work rate on the pitch, but to allow Morgan to have these moments a lot of things happen behind, hard work by the boys and this is very important.”

That sublime opening 45 minutes laid the foundations for just a second league win of 2024 for Forest and the first since they were deducted four points for breaking the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules last month.

That opened up a three-point gap over Luton, who occupy 18th position and visit title-chasing Arsenal on Wednesday night, but Nuno is not getting carried away.

“Of course I am pleased, I am pleased with the performance, it was a good one, much improvement from previous games,” he said.

“After the points deduction it was very important we had some urgency of getting some good results. It’s what we fight for, it’s about points and we need them desperately.

“With all the noise that’s going on around us, it’s very hard to keep that togetherness. But the credit goes to the players because they are sticking with their tasks.

“We know it was important for us today, but let’s not get over the moon. There is still a long way to go.”

Forest had to endure a nervy time as Tosin Adarabioyo’s header gave Fulham a lifeline and the visitors spent most of the second half knocking on the door.

The Cottagers needed a late comeback to earn a point at bottom-placed Sheffield United on Saturday but they could not repeat the feat here as they paid the price for a shambolic opening half-hour.

Fulham boss Marco Silva, who made a triple substitution after 33 minutes, said: “Bad performance, disappointing evening for us, really disappointing result. When you don’t start the game the way you should of course you are going to get punished.

“In the first half we didn’t play, we were there but we didn’t play. We weren’t there, we didn’t do what we planned, we were so, so slow.

“We were not aggressive, the will was not there and this is the first time since this long journey started in 2021 that this has happened.

“Football is to play from the first minute not just the second half. When I made the triple change, at that moment the team needed much more changes than three.

“Overall we were not playing, as a collective we were not there. It is important to say it wasn’t the fault of the three at all. It was a tactical change.”

Morgan Gibbs-White inspired Nottingham Forest to a vital 3-1 victory over Fulham which eased their Premier League relegation concerns.

Gibbs-White put in a virtuoso display in a golden first half which saw Forest cruise into a 3-0 lead.

After setting up Callum Hudson-Odoi’s opener, he watched as Chris Wood made it 2-0 before completing the scoring with a fine finish on the stroke of half-time.

That sublime opening 45 minutes laid the foundations for just a second league win of 2024 for Forest and the first since they were deducted four points for breaking the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules last month.

That opened up a three-point gap over Luton, who occupy 18th position and visit title-chasing Arsenal on Wednesday night.

Forest had to endure a nervy time as Tosin Adarabioyo’s header gave Fulham a lifeline and the visitors spent most of the second half knocking on the door.

The Cottagers needed a late comeback to earn a point at bottom-placed Sheffield United on Saturday but they could not repeat the feat here as they paid the price for a shambolic opening half-hour.

Forest made a flying start by going ahead in the ninth minute.

A fine turn from Gibbs-White created space for himself and he set Hudson-Odoi away with an audacious outside-of-the-boot pass.

The former Chelsea winger did the rest, advancing into the penalty area before cutting inside and firing into the bottom corner.

Gibbs-White was in the mood and he almost laid on a second for Hudson-Odoi with another fine piece of skill, making a fool out of Tosin, but his team-mate could not finish as Bernd Leno came out well to block.

Leno will not want to see replays of the moment Forest did double their lead in the 19th minute.

Wood received the ball with his back to goal 25 yards out, turned and seeing Leno take several steps to his left, planted a shot into the opposite corner, which was totally unguarded.

The hosts were electric and should have been 3-0 up soon after but Anthony Elanga clipped the post after a one-two with the vibrant Gibbs-White.

Fulham boss Marco Silva had seen enough and made a triple substitution after 33 minutes.

Alex Iwobi, Sasa Lukic and Harry Wilson were hauled off for Tom Cairney, Adama Traore and Willian, but the changes did not stem the tide.

Forest capped off a golden 45 minutes with another brilliant goal in first half added time as Gibbs-White played a one-two with Danilo and slotted home into the bottom corner.

What a difference 15 minutes can make as Fulham came out after the break and immediately gave themselves hope.

Tosin climbed highest from Andreas Pereira’s corner and glanced a looping header into the far post.

Willian and Cairney both had shots blocked as the visitors continued to push, but Forest came within inches of killing the game as Neco Williams cut inside and saw a deflected effort crash off the crossbar.

They needed that to go in as Fulham continued to push with Tosin denied by a fine save from Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels, with Kenny Tete heading the resulting corner against the crossbar.

Willian was a whisker away with a curling effort and Traore thundered a shot into the post, but Forest held on for a seismic victory.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder could not hide his disappointment after his side let slip a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 against Fulham at Bramall Lane.

The Blades led 3-1 with four minutes of regulation time remaining after Ben Brereton Diaz’s second-half double sandwiched Oli McBurnie’s effort.

Joao Palhinha had headed Fulham level after Brereton Diaz’s opener, while two stunning finishes from substitute Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Rodrigo Muniz – the latter’s in stoppage time – rescued the Londoners a point.

Wilder, whose side had conceded 21 goals in their four previous home matches, said: “When you score three goals at home in the Premier League, to only get a draw, I think that’s the disappointing aspect of it.

“Obviously the narrative from everybody was home form, goals conceded and being out of the game after 25 minutes, so we had to make sure we did something about it.

“We had to get a foothold in the game, so first base was reached at half-time and the message at half-time was we just needed to show a bit more quality, more belief, enjoy the ball a little bit more, and they did.

“We scored three good goals from our point of view. The flip side is another set-piece has hurt us and then two incredible finishes get them something out of the game.”

Brereton Diaz and McBurnie, who had a second effort after the interval ruled out for offside, combined with deadly precision for the Blades’ first two goals.

Wilder added: “I’m sure if we had been able to stick those two together for a little bit more time we would have reaped the rewards of two really good players, who obviously have an understanding.”

Fulham head coach Marco Silva also admitted it had been a bitter-sweet afternoon for his side after they had dominated before Brereton Diaz’s 58th-minute opener.

Silva said: “I have to say it was an exciting game for sure for the people who were here, but I have to be honest, it was a disappointing result for us. Clearly disappointing.

“When you are dominant from the first minute like we were, the team who created more clear chances to win the game – it is disappointing.

“Of course the reaction, I have to say, as a team it was fantastic. As a team we refused to lose this game because of the way we dominated.

“We showed the quality to come back from 3-1, scoring two great goals and creating more chances even to win the game in the last minutes.”

Muniz struck the woodwork twice, either side of the interval, before Fulham fell behind and the Brazilian striker has now scored eight in as many top-flight appearances.

Silva added: “It was unlucky for him with two off the post, but he kept his composure and trusted in himself.

“He scored a great goal to help the team get a point and there’s much more to come from him.”

Rodrigo Muniz’s superb stoppage-time equaliser denied Sheffield United a rare Premier League win in a six-goal thriller against Fulham at Bramall Lane.

Brazilian striker Muniz volleyed home in the third minute of added time to make it 3-3 and cap a pulsating second half which followed a tame and goalless first period.

Ben Brereton Diaz put the Blades in front and after Joao Palhinha had headed Fulham level, the Chile striker set up Oli McBurnie for the home side’s second before heading the Blades into a 3-1 lead.

But substitute Bobby Cordova-Reid reduced the deficit for Fulham with his first touch in the 86th minute and Muniz acrobatically silenced the home fans with his eighth goal in as many top-flight appearances.

The Blades, who had shipped the most goals in Premier League history after 28 matches, defended doggedly to ensure the first 45 minutes ended 0-0.

They became the first English League club to concede at least five goals in four consecutive home games in all competitions when losing 6-0 to Arsenal earlier this month.

Muniz went close to breaking the deadlock for Fulham when his sliding 38th-minute effort was pushed on to a post by Blades goalkeeper Ivo Grbic.

The Brazilian hit the woodwork again at the start of the second period as his towering header from Andreas Pereira’s deep cross bounced off the far post.

The Blades then scored the opening goal out of nowhere. Ben Osborn set McBurnie free down the left and the latter’s superb ball in across the face of goal was swept home by Brereton Diaz in the 58th minute.

The Blades’ lead lasted only four minutes as the unmarked Palhinha’s looping header from Pereira’s near-post corner drew Fulham level.

But the Blades then struck twice in as many minutes to open up a two-goal lead.

Brereton Diaz laid one on a plate for McBurnie to side-foot home from close range and the Bramall Lane roof was raised when the Chile striker headed home Gustavo Hamer’s curling cross at the far post.

A confusing VAR check immediately after the goal ruled Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno had not struck Brereton Diaz after the striker had fallen over the goal-line.

It appeared to get even better for the Blades before VAR ruled out McBurnie’s effort after Fulham had failed to clear their area as Vini Souza was ruled offside.

The Cottagers then set up a grandstand finish after Cordova-Reid fired home a low shot from the edge of the box after replacing Pereira with four minutes left.

And in the third of 14 minutes of stoppage time, Muniz launched himself at Adama Traore’s cross to smash home Fulham’s equaliser.

Marco Silva believes the pressure on Rodrigo Muniz’s shoulders is a “privilege” after the Fulham striker extended his scoring form against Tottenham.

The Brazilian has starred for the west Londoners in recent weeks, scoring seven goals in his last seven appearances in the Premier League, including an impressive brace in the 3-0 win over Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs earlier this month.

Muniz’s rise to become the Cottagers’ main striker comes after he struggled for minutes at the start of the season, being out of favour and sitting behind Raul Jimenez and Carlos Vinicius in the pecking order up front.

Speaking ahead of Fulham’s clash with Sheffield United on Saturday, head coach Silva said: “The pressure is a privilege for Rodrigo’s situation.

“He is in a much better position now than he was three months ago. Why should he feel so much pressure now? Three months ago he was on the bench and fighting to have a chance to score.

“He’s playing so well, he’s improving and working hard and scoring goals so why should he feel so much pressure now?

“The defenders are more aware of him and it’s fantastic for a striker when you feel the people around you trust that you can solve the problems for us and that you can be a decisive player.

“I see it as a privilege rather than something which is not good.”

Chris Wilder’s Blades sit bottom of the table and are looking for just a fourth league win of the season after a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth last time out snapped a three-match losing run.

Silva warned that his players cannot afford to be complacent and expects their hosts to bring the fight at Bramall Lane.

“If we go into the game complacent then we are going to have problems, we will be surprised,” Silva added.

“We have to have the same ambition, focus and desire which we played the last few games with.

“They will fight really hard to get the points and they are not in a position they wanted, bottom of the table is tough and every game where you don’t get points you are getting more in trouble.

“They have shown the capacity to react and their last game was an example.”

Fulham’s form of four wins in seven has seen them close the gap on teams in contention for European places and Silva insists motivation is high among his players to finish the season well.

“We are full of motivation,” he said. “The motivation was really high against Tottenham and we felt that at Craven Cottage.

“It is about motivation, desire, the will to go every time and the commitment. We always have to be on top and it will always be the same for us. Every time we go into a match we have to do our maximum.”

Alex Iwobi insists he was unmoved by the online abuse he suffered after Nigeria lost the Africa Cup of Nations final to Ivory Coast.

The Fulham midfielder was targeted on social media, leading him to remove all of his previous Instagram posts as he was singled out for criticism following the 2-1 loss to the hosts in February.

Iwobi, 27, had already been questioned during the competition for perceived poor form.

But the former Arsenal winger said he did not even see the earlier posts as he focused on getting as far as he could with Nigeria.

“The whole competition I didn’t see it,” he said on his new Project 17 podcast.

“I remember in a press conference they said, ‘where is the creativity?’ and I had to address the role I was given and I said I am the kind of guy who will listen to my coach and try to do the job I’m told to do.”

Even after the loss to Ivory Coast, Iwobi was instead reading messages of support from friends and family rather than scrolling through any abuse on his social media accounts.

“The game is done now, obviously I’m disappointed – I’m on my phone but I don’t check Twitter. I’m on Snapchat and WhatsApp with all my people telling me I’ve done my nation proud.”

It was not until the following day that Iwobi was made aware of any comments as Napoli striker Victor Osimhen and other members of the squad rallied round and attempted to put out a collective statement condemning the insults.

“At two o’clock there was a knock on the door, I was like, ‘I don’t want room service’ but I looked through the keyhole and it is Victor Osimhen,” added Iwobi.

“I’m half-asleep with my hair everywhere but he said, ‘I’m not going to lie to you, they’ve been talking about you a lot on social media and I want to make sure you’re good. They’re saying you’re apparently going to retire, you’re depressed’.

“It is what it is, it is not the first time. The first AFCON where I got sent off it happened, at Arsenal it constantly happened, at Everton when I signed for two years it happened, that is football. I would rather be off social media, I don’t want to see that and I don’t care.

“They wanted to put out a statement saying cyber bullying is wrong and I said, ‘I hear that but we are just going to create a bigger scene’ but they said we needed to stand as one.

“They were standing up for me but I said no because the world would think I was down, I’m actually calm, just listening to music.”

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Iwobi is now back on Instagram and posts the occasional message on X and, while he condemns cyberbullying, he maintains he has not let it impact his life.

“I’m really tired of socials, really and truly,” he added.

“I would rather just be real in real life. I have seen people come off socials, like Stormzy and Jay-Z don’t have it and I feel they are living life peacefully.

“I don’t want people to think I am affected because I’m not. We came to the conclusion I needed to jump back on socials and it was important for people to see how I felt, rather than a statement where I thank you for the support and say that cyberbullying is wrong.

“Obviously now I’m back and seeing messages, I said thank you but I didn’t want to go into detail. It was a crazy period.”

Sasa Lukic said facing James Maddison in Fulham’s win over Tottenham was like a “dress rehearsal” for Serbia’s European Championship opener against England this summer.

Lukic netted his first Fulham goal in a 3-0 victory which prevented Ange Postecoglou’s side from moving into the top four.

The Euro 2024 finals will be Serbia’s first as an independent nation and Lukic used Saturday’s victory to ready himself for their Group C clash against Gareth Southgate’s men in June.

When asked how excited he is to face England, Lukic said: “Yeah, I can’t wait.

“Already today was like a dress rehearsal because Maddison was there and it’s definitely going to be a good game against England at the Euros.

“I’m proud to be Serbian and play for my country. It is our first time in the Euros after a long time and I hope to do well.”

Lukic’s strike came in the 49th minute at Craven Cottage after his knee connected with Timothy Castagne’s cross.

The midfielder, who battled with injury earlier this season, talked about his relief at getting amongst the goals and starting in Fulham’s last four matches where they picked up three wins.

“I am so happy to score my first goal for Fulham,” Lukic added. “It was my knee, it was strange, but it’s important to score a goal. I hope to score many goals for Fulham.

“This was my fourth game in a row. Prior to that, I didn’t play much and it was hard, it wasn’t an easy time.

“I worked a lot on myself. But it proved that with a performance like tonight and the ones against Manchester United and Brighton, work has been paying off.”

Rodrigo Muniz scored a brace to extend his stunning run in front of goal to seven in his last seven.

Lukic is not surprised with the Brazilian forward’s form, highlighting his work ethic in training.

He said: “No, I’m not surprised at all, I see him everyday in training, I see how he works, I see how he behaves. He only has to keep it going.”

Tottenham captain Son Heung-min described their 3-0 defeat at Fulham as “unacceptable” and urged his team-mates to use it as a wake-up call.

Spurs entered this fixture on a high after an emphatic victory at Aston Villa last weekend.

It meant fifth-placed Tottenham could leapfrog Villa and reclaim fourth spot with all three points at Craven Cottage, but they were blown away as Rodrigo Muniz continued his excellent form with a goal either side of half-time.

Sasa Lukic also found the net after 49 minutes with his first goal for Fulham, who have now won four of their last six matches.

“Yeah, it is very disappointing and very frustrating,” Son told Sky Sports.

“Everybody has to look in the mirror and say, ‘it was my fault’ because it was not good enough. It was not near the level where we put the effort all season.

“This time it was very, very disappointing. The attitude, the performance, it was not good enough. I think everyone needs this as a big wake-up call.

“It is unacceptable. You always have lessons and including me it was unacceptable that performance and the result.

“We make two steps backwards and now need to make a strong step forwards because after the international break we have massive game and it will be very crucial.”

Tottenham started poorly and could have conceded twice inside the opening 11 minutes, but Cristian Romero made crucial blocks to deny Muniz and Andrea Pereira.

The visitors eventually regrouped and went close through captain Son and James Maddison, who both failed to hit the target from inside the area and Fulham punished Spurs in the 42nd minute.

Antonee Robinson produced an excellent cross from the left, which Muniz controlled before he side-footed into the bottom corner.

It was 2-0 immediately after half-time when Lukic deflected in Alex Iwobi’s cross with his knee and Muniz wrapped up the scoring after 61 minutes.

Calvin Bassey’s effort was parried onto the post by Guglielmo Vicario and Muniz bundled in for his seventh goal from his last seven matches to consign Tottenham to a painful defeat.

Boss Ange Postecoglou expressed his disappointment and doubled down on his previously stated notion that Champions League qualification is not crucial for the development of his team.

“The second half after we conceded the second one, we just didn’t reach the levels of intensity and tempo we’ve had all year,” Postecoglou reflected.

“Then it was very hard for us to get any kind of control or traction in the game. It seemed like we were chasing the whole time, so it was a disappointing night for us.”

On missing out on the chance to return to fourth, Postecoglou replied: “I don’t see fourth as the prize.

“This club has finished fourth before. It’s finished second before.

“Fourth is not my end goal. I don’t want to finish fourth if we haven’t grown as a team and developed as a team.

“Success is built on, I think, more tangible stuff. If we finish fifth and if I think we’ve got a team to challenge next year (after the summer transfer window), then I won’t be disappointed.”

Fulham boss Marco Silva toasted another fine result, with this win making it four from their last six matches, which includes victories over Brighton and Manchester United.

“If not the best (performance), one of the best,” Silva insisted.

“The first half was the best of the season because the players did it brilliant. It was almost perfect.

“A crucial moment to score and it was really important to score two quick goals to kill the game.

“A well deserved three points.”