Dan Evans’ takeaways from Fulham’s 2-0 win at West Ham – Pereira finds scoring touch as Whites improve on away day woes

Fulham registered just their third away win of the season by beating West Ham United 2-0 at the London Stadium on Sunday.

Here are Dan Evans’ takeaways from the game.

ANDREAS PEREIRA’S FINE FINISHES MAKE LACK OF GOALS A MYSTERY

Andreas Pereira turned out to be Fulham’s matchwinner at the London Stadium, scoring a well-taken goal in either half to end the Whites’ run of three matches without a win.

Given the confidence the Brazilian showed in rounding Lukasz Fabianski to tap home the game’s opener after just nine minutes, it surely would have been a surprise to many that it was only his second goal of the season.

A third followed in the final twenty minutes as Pereira found himself in the perfect position to finish off an Alex Iwobi cross, but he regularly troubled the West Ham goal throughout the game.

The former Manchester United midfielder had four shots in total, accumulating an individual expected goals total of 1.69 – more than double that of any other player on the pitch.

Pereira’s previous goal this term came in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal in August, and given he is averaging the sixth most shots per game of any player in the Fulham squad he surely should have recorded a more impressive tally as we enter the final weeks of the season.

Marco Silva revealed after the game that has been asking Pereira to get into more dangerous goal-scoring positions, and he was particularly pleased with the determination the midfielder showed to finish off the second-half counterattack that sealed the game.

“In that role in the team, you have to be more decisive, score more goals as well, and I’m really pleased to see him arrive in certain areas [to score],” he said.

SASA LUKIC’S RETURN REINFORCES MIDFIELD STEEL ALONGSIDE JOAO PALHINHA

The trip to east London yielded a fairly straightforward win once Pereira had scored the first goal, but West Ham did start the game with a tempo that suggested Fulham were in for a long afternoon.

Lucas Paqueta was showing off his full repertoire of tricks and flicks in the opening exchanges, and the right-sided duo of Vladimir Coufal and Mohamed Kudus looked set to give Antonee Robinson a stern test.

However, Fulham soon adjusted to David Moyes’ decision to field an extra striker in Danny Ings. The switch meant West Ham had plenty of bodies committed to every attack, as Coufal and Emerson pushed forward from full-back as well.

But with Joao Palhinha at his very best, making nine tackles and two interceptions, and Sasa Lukic restored to the team, Marco Silva’s side soon began to frustrate a West Ham frontline that still boasted impressive names despite the absence of top-scorer Jarrod Bowen.

Lukic’s last start came in the 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest at the start of April and lasted just 28 minutes as Silva made a triple substitution with his side two goals down early on.

He made the most of this opportunity, though, filling in well alongside Palhinha to prevent West Ham from building on the early joy they found through Paqueta and Kudus.

While never shy to join attacks when the opportunity presented itself, Lukic registered four clearances, two tackles and a block as Fulham registered just their fourth league clean sheet since the turn of the year.

This defensive shield in front of the backline quickly became a source of frustration for Paqueta, as not only did he surrender possession in the build-up to both goals, but he was also shown a yellow card in second-half stoppage-time after a coming together with Palhinha led to him taking a swipe at Lukic.

COMFORTABLE AWAY DAY WIN IMPROVES POOR RECORD ON THE ROAD

Heading into the weekend, only bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United had won fewer away games this season than Fulham’s two.

Silva’s side recorded the seventh-best away record in the Premier League last term, but it has been a very different story this season.

Although the campaign started with a win at Everton, and the victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford in March will live long in the memory, the Whites have not been happy travellers of late.

In recent months they have failed to see off relegation strugglers Burnley and Sheffield United on the road, and the first-half display in the defeat at Forest was among their poorest showings since their return to the Premier League.

A disappointing record on the road has been a stumbling block to the Whites mounting a genuine challenge for European football this season.

But the way in which they saw out this victory defensively while also looking a constant threat on the counterattack suggested that wins in their final two away trips against Brentford and Luton Town should not be out of the question.

BASSEY & ADARABIOYO REPAY SILVA’S FAITH

Given Fulham conceded three goals in back-to-back games against Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest, the centre-back pairing of Calvin Bassey and Tosin Adarabioyo could have had few complaints if Silva had opted to change up his backline for the games that followed.

Not only did the pair hardly cover themselves in glory in those defeats, but the experienced Tim Ream and Issa Diop, who started the season in good form, have been waiting since the middle of February to break back into the team.

But Silva stuck with what now looks like his preferred pairing for the narrow defeat to Newcastle United, and he did so once again at West Ham.

He was proven wise in doing so as well, with both centre-backs putting in strong performances.

Bassey has thrived since a difficult start to life in the Premier League and has taken little time to reclaim his place in the side after featuring at the Africa Cup of Nations for Nigeria.

Against West Ham he made four tackles and registered 11 clearances, suggesting once again that it was a smart decision to sign him from Ajax last summer.

The future of Tosin remains up in the air with his current contract set to expire in the summer.

He made one tackle and made 10 clearances at the London Stadium – another performance that explains why he is currently being linked with a move to some of Europe’s most high-profile clubs.