Pablo Zabaleta was in attendance to watch Fulham against Aston Villa – but his trip to watch Armando Broja was a wasted one.
Fulham were hoping to make it two home wins in a row after beating Bournemouth, but came up short against Villa.
Ollie Watkins’ brace put Villa into a 2-0 lead before Rodrigo Muniz’s hot streak continued with a goal back for Fulham.
Marco Silva’s men couldn’t quite find a leveller though, leaving Villa to run out 2-1 victors at Craven Cottage.
On a frustrating afternoon in West London, spare a though for Premier League title winner Pablo Zabaleta…
Pablo Zabaleta’s wasted journey
Former Manchester City star Zabaleta was spotted in the stands at Craven Cottage during Saturday’s game.
The Argentinian was sitting next to ex-Arsenal defender Sylvinho in a pairing which may have raised a few eyebrows.
The pair actually work together now though as Zabaleta works as Sylvinho’s assistant with the Albanian national team.
The purpose of their journey is therefore clear – they were in attendance to watch Fulham striker Armando Broja.
Broja has already picked up four goals in 17 caps for Albania after picking them over England.
The 22-year-old’s parents hail from Albania and Broja chose to represent them, so Sylvinho and Zabaleta were hoping to check in on his progress after his recent loan move from Chelsea.
Well, they were left disappointed as Broja wasn’t even on the bench to face Villa.
Broja picked up an illness and missed out completely, robbing Sylvinho and Zabaleta of a chance to see him in action.
Albania take on Chile and Sweden in March, with Broja surely in line for a call-up if available.
First-team chances are hard to come by right now though with Muniz in such sensational form.
Maybe Sylvinho and Zabaleta will be back at Craven Cottage soon enough, but they will certainly have been left disappointing having seen Broja miss out.