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Marco Silva lauded Emile Smith Rowe’s impact in a Fulham shirt after he scored on his home debut during their 2-1 victory over Leicester in the Premier League.
Smith Rowe clinically finished past Foxes goalkeeper Mads Hermansen in the 18th minute to open his Cottagers goal account.
Despite Wout Faes equalising, Fulham found victory as Alex Iwobi’s finish claimed three points for the hosts.
Silva was impressed with 24-year-old Smith Rowe, who Fulham signed from Arsenal for a reported £27million this summer.
Speaking to a press conference after the match, Silva said: “It’s always important (to get first goal) when you sign a talent like him, it’s important to have the impact.
“We signed him not only just for now but for a long time, it was important for him even though he has experience. Last season he didn’t play football, I think it was his first goal in the Premier League in two years as well.
“He settled in the pre-season, it was important to get a little bit more confidence and he scored a good finish. When we sign a player for that position we need them to be decisive, he got the conclusion to finish in the right way.
“He’s far from his best from a physical point of view, he’s going to improve, he’ll adapt more, it was nice to see him be decisive.”
Fulham’s second came after a quality moment of individual skill from Antonee Robinson, the left-back producing a lofted through-ball for Iwobi to smash home the winner.
Silva credited the full-back’s influence as he helped his side bounce back from last week’s late defeat at Manchester United.
He added: “It was a great pass from Robinson and that’s something we wanted to exploit down the left.
“He’s been impressive, he’s improved as a player, he was one of our best players of the season last season and he never stops.
“The way he started last week shows he’s a great athlete and he is able to keep improving.”
Steve Cooper credited his players’ work ethic in what was a “disappointing” result for the newly-promoted side.
He said: “We thought the game was there for us at half-time, it changed a little bit and we couldn’t capitalise on that. We had tired legs and then their goal came.
“We pushed hard and showed great resilience in the first two games and to fight. We are really disappointed that we lost.”
