Marco Silva: “It’s difficult to believe, really,” the Fulham manager tells BBC Sport. “We did almost everything well. Everton played a direct game, we knew that, and they created some moments but we are always on the front foot. I am proud of my players, we didn’t win the game but we played at a very good level. We have to put the ball in the net and on a normal evening we score more than one goal with these chances.
“Jordan Pickford and their defenders deserve credit. They block everything but we did everything to win. In football we have days like this. It’s the first game at home we have not scored, our philosophy and desire is right. Mitro will score next time.”
Match report: Fulham 0-0 Everton
Premier League: “The goal just never came,” writes John Brewin from Craven Cottage. “Fulham were full of speed and invention but lacked the finishing touch to get past a busy but commanding Jordan Pickford.”
Willian: “We deserved more,” says the Brazilian, who was excellent this evening. “We created a lot of chances today. At least we got one point. We should have got at least two goals. We are disappointed. We have to go again next week.”
Full time: Fulham 0-0 Everton
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeep! It’s one point gained for Everton and two dropped for dominant Fulham at the final whistle. Quite how the in-form Aleksandar Mitrovic didn’t put away at least one of his 10 chances beggars belief but the match ends all square. Of cxourse, Everton will argue with plenty of justification that the Serb should have been sent off in the first half for a very nasty challenge on Idriss Gueye.
Updated
90+3 min: Pickford gets the ball launched downfield but Fulham clear their lines. The ball’s sent back into their penalty area but Calvert-Lewin is penalised for offside. Again. He hasn’t done himself any favours this evening as far as World Cup selection is concerned.
90+1 min: Into added time we go and Fulham surge forward again. Palinha plays the ball to Wilson at the far post but the Welshman from Wrexham is unable to control it under pressure. Goal kick.
89 min: Another inviting chance falls Mitrovic’s away but he shanks the ball over the bar. That’s his tenth shot of the game.
88 min: Everton enjoy a period of sustained possession, hoping for a late smash-and-grab. They’ve had one shot to Fulham’s 12, but it wasn’t on target.
86 min: Everton substitution: Neal Maupay on for Anthony Gordon, who has not had one of his better games in an Everton shirt tonight.
86 min: Nathan Patterson does well to prevent Mitrovic from getting a clean header as he connects with an Antonee Robinson cross from the left.
85 min: Tom Cairney’s cross to the far post is headed away by Mykolenko as Everton continue to hang on for grim death.
84 min: Excellent work down the left from Willian who squares the ball. James Garner’s vital touch prevents Diop from tapping in.
83 min: Another cross from the left and Tarkowski dives in head-first to prevent Mitrovic getting his boot to the ball on the edge of the Everton six-yard box.
Updated
80 min: Mitrovic is in the Everton penalty area in plenty of space as he receives a cross to feet from Robinson. His touch deserts him, the bobbles out of reach and another good chance goes a begging.
80 min: Good work down the flank from Harry Wilson, who pulls the ball back to Willian. His rising drive is saved by Pickford.
79 min: Tarkowski and Coady combine to block a Tom Cairney shot from the edge of the Everton penalty area. Nothing comes from the subsequent corner.
77 min: Fulham need to get some match time into the legs of Kenny Tete after the Dutchman spent the last five games sidelined with injury. If I’m not very much mistaken, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, the man he’s just replaced, is now suspended for Fulham’s next game, which is away to Manchester City. You don’t want to be going into that one cold.
76 min: Fulham double-substitution: Kenny Tete and Tom Cairney on for Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Andreas Pereira.
Updated
75 min: Everton substitution: Dwight McNeil on for Demarai Gray.
73 min: If there’s a goal coming in this game, Fulham currently look the more likely team to get it but we’re in something of a lull compared to what’s gone before.
69 min: Dominic Calvert-Lewin runs on to a neat Owobi pass down the inside left and scores at the second attempt but his effort won’t count. He had mistimed his run, was offside and he knew it.
Updated
67 min: Fulham substitution: Harry Wilson on for Neeskens Kebano.
Liverpool v Leeds United is tonight’s late game and Scott Murray has the team news.
66 min: Mitrovic tees up Harrison Reed on the edge of the Everton penalty area with a neat lay-off but the shot is blocked.
64 min: Everton double-substitution: Nathan Patterson and James Garner replace Seamus Coleman and Idrissa Gueye.
64 min: Onana is booked for clattering into the back of Andreas Pereira.
62 min: A Fulham cross from the right breaks the way of Mitrovic and the ball sits up kindly. He sends it flying over the bar and into the stand; another good chance goes to waste for Fulham.
60 min: A Mark Hughes-esque Mitrovic volley from inside the Everton penalty area fizzes well wide of the far post. In the build-up he’d been left completely unmarked and allowed a free header by Everton’s defender when Atnonee Robinson had sent a cross into the box.
58 min: Bobby De Cordova-Reid is booked for grabbing the shorts of Vitaly Mykolenko and hanging on for dear life as the Ukrainian tried to canter down the left touchline with the ball at his feet. From the subsequent free-kick, the ball breaks to Onana, whose low diagonal effort trundles wide of the far post.
56 min: Under pressure from a defender, Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoops the ball over the Fulham bar after getting in behind to pounce on an Onana ball from deep. Offside.
54 min: Palinha takes the ball off the toe of Mamadou Onana as the Everton midfielder pounced on a rogue pass and threatened to advance to the Fulham penalty area. Throw-in for Everton, deep in Fulham territory. Nothing comes of it.
52 min: Pickford saves a shot from Willian, diving to his left to palm the ball away with both hands after the Fulham winger had cut inside Seamus Coleman and unleashed a curler from distance. Everton’s goalkeeper gives the Irishman a piece of his mind for letting the Brazilian get the better of him so easily.
Updated
50 min: Tim Ream receives a pass from Bernd Leno, walks the ball out of his own penalty area unopposed by any Everton forwards, then plays it across the back to Issa Diop. That seemed to take an absolute eternity.
48 min: Aleksandar Mitrovic gets on the end of a curled cross into the Everton penalty area but steers his header wide.
47 min: Idrissa Gueye lunges in on Willian as the Brazilian cuts inside the Everton penalty area, the Everton midfielder appearing to miss the ball and catch his opponent’s toe. Willian goes down but Fulham’s appeals for a penalty fall on deaf ears. Hmmmm …
Second half: Fulham 0-0 Everton
46 min: Play resumes with no changes in personnel on either side.
Half-time: Fulham 0-0 Everton
Peep! The players go in for their half-time brew with Fulham in the ascendency against an Everton side that has also had a few decent chances. It’s been an entertaining game so far but Marco Silva will almost certainly be the happier of the two managers.
44 min: Harrison Reed and Bobby Reid combine down the left wing for Fulham but Mamadou Onana puts the ball out of play for a throw-in.
42 min: In a crowded penalty area, Anthony Gordon shoots high over the Fulham cross-bar from a tight angle.
40 min: Tarkowski heads straight at Bernd Leno from about 10 yards out as the ball is swung into the box from a cleverly worked Everton corner.
Updated
37 min: Dominic Calvert-Lewin clears the inswinger but Fulham appeal for a penalty after James Tarkowski grapples Bobby De Cordova-Reid to the ground as the ball came in. There’s no question that the offence occurred but no spot-kick is awarded. Go figure.
35 min: Neeskens Kebano wins a free-kick for Fulham, going down under an innocuous looking challenge from Amadou Onana in line with the right edge of the Everton penalty area.
34 min: Demarai Gray attacks down the left touchline for Everton but his whipped cross into the Fulham penalty area is hacked clear by Issa Diop.
Updated
31 min: Fulham continue to turn the screw and win themselves another corner. Pereira’s delivery is too high for Mitrovic, the ball breaks to Harrison Reed and his low shot from distance is deflected into the hands of Jordan Pickford.
28 min: That corner came from a good Fulham move down the left, with Robinson and Willian linking up well. Conor Coady was forced into a vital interception.
26 min: Fulham corner. Willian takes it, teeing up Andreas Pereira for a volley from the edge of a penalty area, in a move identical to the one from which Youri Tielemans came so close for Leicester against Manchester City earlier today. Tielemans forced a wonderful save out of Ederson, but Pereira shanks his shot wide.
24 min: Contesting the ball, Aleksandar Mitrovic treads heavily on Idrissa Gueye’s ankle. He gets booked and I’ll tell you what – I’ve seen red cards given for an awful lot less. I’m not sure there was any intention on Mitrovic’s part to hurt his opponent but that doesn’t matter. I think he’s got away with one there.
Updated
23 min: Everton’s fans strike up a rising rendition of a certain anti-Tory chant. Fulham’s supporters, who probably have considerably more Conservative voters among their number than Everton, don’t join in.
21 min: Calvert-Lewin seems to have done his left shoulder a mischief but is continuing for now. He keeps holding it.
18 min: Demarai Gray curls a wonderfully inviting cross along the edge of the Fulham six-yard box. I’m not sure how he failed to make contact and score but it’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin, rather than the ball, who ends up in the back of the net. That was a sitter.
Updated
16 min: There’s a break in play as Aleksandar Mitrovic goes to ground injured after an aerial challenge with Conor Coady, who didn’t jump with the striker but instead ducked into him Harry Kane style while the Serb was in mid-air, ensuring he landed head and shoulders first. I have no dog in this fight and nothing but the highest of regard for Coady but that’s dangerous and should be a yellow, if not a red card, in my humble opinion. Others are available.
14 min: Another long ball from deep from Everton, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the chase. Tim Ream isn’t fast enough to keep up with him but Antonee Robinson is on hand to clear up at the back for Fulham.
14 min: Everton started in the ascendency but their hosts have now got a firm foothold in the game. It’s a tricky one to call.
Updated
11 min: Another Fulham corner. Pereira sends the ball in with vicious whip, it’s flicked on at the near post. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is forced to clear just a couple of feet off his own line.
Updated
10 min: Another save from Pickford in what is shaping up to be an excellent game. He puts the ball out for another corner, palming away a long-range effort from Harrison Reed. Pereira, usually so reliable with his set-piece delivery, overhits his delivery to the far post.
Updated
8 min: Willian collects a cross and shoots on the tun from close range forcing Pickford to tip the ball over his cross-bar with a fine save. From the corner, Mitrovic climbs high to head Pereira’s delivery goalwards. Pickford puts the ball out for another corner.
Updated
6 min: Demarai Gray forces Bernd Leno into a very smart save with a rasping, rising drive. Moments previously, Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson had blocked brilliantly from Anthony Gordon as the Everton winger chased a long ball from Jordan Pickford and unleashed a shot.
4 min: Andreas Pereira stands the ball up for Willian on the fringes of the Everton six-yard box. The Brazilian makes a pig’s ear of his header and the ball goes wide off his shoulder.
3 min: Dominic Calvert-Lewin gets the better of Tim Ream down the inside right and pulls the ball back into the penalty area from the byline. Bobby Decordoba-Reid gets a vital touch to take it away from the incoming Demarai Gray.
2 min: Everton win a couple of throw-ins in quick succession down by the technical areas and are dominating proceedings in these very early stages.
Fulham v Everton is go ...
1 min: Everton get the ball rolling, their players wearing yellow shirts, shorts and socks. Fulham wear their usual home kit: white shirts, black shorts and white socks.
Not long now: The teams are out on the Craven Cottage pitch, lined up either side of match referee John Brooks and his team of match officials. Kick-off is just a couple of minutes away.
How things stand: Results elsewhere this afternoon mean that both sides have dropped a place. Fulham go down to eighth, while Everton are now in 13th spot.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin: The Everton striker needs a big, big performance today if he is to earn a place in the England squad for the World Cup as back-up for Harry Kane. Injury means that Calvert-Lewin has only made four appearances – two starts – for Everton so far this season but he scored last time out against Crystal Palace.
He will do well to get picked ahead of Callum Wilson, another injury prone striker who scored twice and hit the woodwork this afternoon in Newcastle’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa, a match attended by England manager Gareth Southgate. Ivan Toney, Tammy Abraham and somebody obvious I’ve almost certainly forgotten are also in the mix with less than a month to go to Qatar 2022.
Those teams: Fulham boss Marco Silva makes two changes to the side that won 3-2 at Leeds last Sunday. Neeskens Kebano and Issa Diop come in, with Harry Wilson and Tosin Adarabioyo making way. Kenny Tete is back on the bench after recovering from a hamstring injury, while Dan James is also among the substitutes.
Frank Lampard has picked the same Everton team that did so well against Crystal Palace. Having returned to fitness, Nathan Patterson is on the bench. There’s no place in the matchday squad for the Venezuelan striker Salomon Rondon.
Fulham v Everton starting line-ups
Fulham: Leno, Kebano, Reed, Diop, Mitrovic, Ream, De Cordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian, João Palhinha, Robinson
Subs: Rodak, Duffy, Wilson, Cairney, James, Tete, Vinícius, Tosin, Harris
Everton: Pickford, Tarkowski, Onana, Calvert-Lewin, Gordon, Gray, Iwobi, Mykolenko, Coleman, Gueye, Coady
Subs: Begovic, Holgate, Keane, McNeil, Doucoure, Maupay, Davies, Garner, Patterson
Our team to face @FulhamFC! 👇 pic.twitter.com/cDcO171o3Q
— Everton (@Everton) October 29, 2022
Ready for action! ⚔️#FULEVE pic.twitter.com/4GpZU23R62
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) October 29, 2022
Today's match officials
Referee: John Brooks
Assistants: Darren Cann and Dan Robathan
Fourth official: Simon Hooper
VAR: Darren England
Early team news
Fulham right-back Kenny Tete is back from a thigh injury and could start today. Left-back Manor Solomon and winger Layvin Kurzawa are sidelined but loanee Dan James is expected to return to the side this weekend after being forced to sit out Fulham’s win over his parent club Leeds.
Everton are without Ben Godfrey and Andros Townsend, who remain sidelined and unlikely to return before Christmas. Yerry Mina is also out after suffering a setback in his recovery from an ankle injury. Nathan Patterson has recovered from an ankle injury and is expected to be in today’s matchday squad. The Scottish right-back has not played since Everton’s home win over West Ham in mid-September.
Fulham v Everton
Premier League: Fulham host Everton at Craven Cottage, with the visitors in twelfth place in the table, five points behind their hosts, who are scaling the unexpectedly dizzy heights of seventh. Sacked by Everton almost three years ago after 18 months in charge of Goodison Park, Marco Silva has done sterling work at Fulham since his appointment in July 2021, taking them into the Premier League as champions last season and now making a very decent fist of keeping them in the top flight.
Having kept Everton up following his appointment as manager last season, Frank Lampard is having an up and down time of it in the current campaign. His side swatted Crystal Palace aside courtesy of three outstanding goals last weekend but that impressive victory came on the back of three consecutive defeats. Everton have won just one of their six matches on the road this season. Kick-off at the Cottage is at 5.30pm but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
