Fulham manager Marco Silva was delighted with his side’s penalty shootout win over Everton last night but wasn’t entirely happy with forward Rodrigo Muniz.
It was Tosin Adarabioyo’s spot kick that won Fulham the tie although Andreas Pereira set the tone with his opening penalty.
Journalist Dom Smith admitted that the Portuguese manager wasn’t entirely happy with his team in the first half.
Marco Silva was forced into several changes ahead of yesterday’s match, partly to manage some player’s minutes and partly due to suspension.
Tom Cairney dropped to the bench despite his exceptional recent form as did full-back Kenny Tete.
It meant Harrison Reed led the side out for the first time in his Fulham career as he lined up alongside Joao Palhinha in midfield.
Raul Jimenez’s red card against Newcastle forced Silva to make a change up top and chose Rodrigo Muniz over Carlos Vinicius.
The £6.9m forward was just starting to find his feet earlier in the season before picking up an injury against Manchester United.
Silva put Muniz straight back in the team against Everton and although he might not have been pressing as much as he should have been, he ended up making a big contribution.
He didn’t last the full 90 minutes though and it was Vinicius who was trusted to step up and take a decisive penalty at the end of the match.
Silva frustrated with Muniz against Everton
Posting on social media during the opening 45 minutes, Smith said: “Marco Silva is getting visibly frustrated with Rodrigo Muniz’s reluctance to press Everton’s defence straight away. Toffees on top.”
While Muniz might not have been getting as close to Everton’s defenders as Silva would have liked, he played a key role in our opening goal.
The ball was fired into his feet and akin to his old teammate Aleksandar Mitrovic, his close control was perfect, holding off an Everton defender before laying the ball off.
It found its way to the left wing and as we’ve seen so often this year, Antonee Robinson overlapped Willian and delivered a dangerous cross into the box.
Michael Keane could only divert it into his own goal and Muniz has to be credited for his role in the goal.
It looks likely that the young Brazilian will keep his place in the side to face Burnley on Saturday.
It would be the perfect time for Muniz to finally score his first Premier League goal.