Iwobi gives Fulham win against Leicester

Alex Iwobi’s 70th-minute winner gave Fulham victory over Leicester in their first Premier League home game of the season.

The Nigeria winger fired through the legs of goalkeeper Mads Hermansen to restore Fulham’s lead after Wout Faes had levelled for the Foxes before the break.

The Cottagers, who were dominant throughout, opened the scoring when club record signing Emile Smith Rowe slotted in.

Smith Rowe joined Fulham in a £34m deal from Arsenal earlier this month after falling out of favour with Gunners boss Mikel Arteta – making just 13 Premier League appearances last season.

But he hit the ground running at Craven Cottage, picking up the ball from Adama Traore on the left before driving towards Hermansen and firing into the far corner.

“I can’t be happier. To play my first game at Craven Cottage and get the three points, I’m really happy,” Smith Rowe said.

Faes’ equaliser 20 minutes later was initially ruled out by referee Darren Bond, who judged Jamie Vardy to have been interfering with Bernd Leno in an offside position.

But the video assistant referee sent Bond to the pitchside monitor and he overturned the decision after seeing replays of the Fulham goalkeeper pushing Vardy out his way.

The visitors struggled for possession after Iwobi’s goal and lacked a clinical edge as they pushed for a late equaliser with Wilfred Ndidi coming closest, only to slam his shot straight at Leno in the final moments of injury time.

It is a first win of the season for Marco Silva’s side, who came away from their opener at Manchester United empty-handed, losing 1-0 to a late goal.

Fulham may have felt hard done by coming away from Old Trafford last week without a point, having started brightly.

A point here would have been equally disappointing, given they threatened constantly, peppering Leicester’s goal with 18 shots.

Silva said on Friday the club still needed to sign a forward, but Smith Rowe showed a striker’s instinct when he calmly lifted the ball over Hermansen and into the net.

Iwobi, too, carried the same clinical edge – waiting for the Leicester keeper to make his move before picking out his shot.

Asked about Smith Rowe’s price tag, Silva said: “It’s not best to think about whether he is the club record or not.

“We recognise his quality, I am sure he is going to be important as he was today. I am sure he is going to be even more important in the future.”

Fulham have continued to strengthen and had a busy week in the transfer window, paying more than £50m to bring in Sander Berge and Joachim Andersen.

The pair received a warm welcome from Fulham fans before kick-off but neither player was named in the matchday squad.

As was the case in their 1-1 draw against Tottenham last Monday, Steve Cooper’s side were outfought in every area of the pitch.

Unlike Spurs, however, Fulham were able to keep Jamie Vardy at bay – and so Leicester were unable to find a way to a point this time.

The 37-year-old veteran striker had just 12 touches and failed to register a shot before he was replaced by Stephy Mavididi in the 71st minute.

At the other end of the pitch, Leicester looked unconvincing.

They were lucky not to concede more in the first half with Hermansen producing brilliant saves to keep out Traore, Iwobi and Rodrigo Muniz.

Leicester centre-back Jannik Vestergaard nearly scored an own goal early in the second half when his defensive header looped over Hermansen and on to the roof of the net.

Faes, too, was let off the hook after a risky flick in his own box gave Fulham possession, but Muniz couldn’t capitalise and fired over the crossbar.