Getting the most out of Ryan Sessegnon, making Aleksandar Mitrovic believe again and instilling fighting spirit – we look at how Claudio Ranieri masterminded a 3-2 victory over Southampton in his first game in charge.
He is no stranger to a relegation dogfight, but the task Ranieri undertook at Fulham was a daunting one. Only five clubs in Premier League history who garnered six points or fewer after 12 games have stayed up and, to make their situation seem more desperate, Fulham had lost six in a row in all competitions before Slavisa Jokanovic was relieved of his duties.
Undeterred, Ranieri insisted he is the right man for the job, and has a plan to guide Fulham to Premier League safety.
It has all got off to a positive start with a thrilling success over Southampton at Craven Cottage, but just how did Ranieri inspire his team – who had not scored a goal since October 20 – to a crucial three points? We take a look…
Pulled Sessegnon wide to utilise his strengths
Sessegnon, it is safe to say, has not lived up to the burgeoning reputation that followed him from the Championship so far this season. A host of top clubs were reportedly courting the 18-year-old, before he penned a new deal at Craven Cottage.
One goal and one assist from 10 PremierLeague starts certainly represents something of a slow start, but against Saints, Sessegnon helped himself to two assists, and proved to be a general menace all afternoon.
He benefited from being deployed in a much wider position. A look at the average position data in the recent defeats at home to Bournemouth and away at Cardiff shows Sessegnon taking up a central role, where he cannot utilise his skillset in such a congested area.
Against Southampton, Ranieri ensured Sessegnon stayed wide, and pushed up the pitch, higher and wider than he has played all season. With confidence low, getting Sessegnon one v one was imperative, and Ranieri did just that at Craven Cottage.
His assist for Mitrovic’s equaliser will give him the world of confidence to take the attack to the opposition, and with such a myriad of opponent-beating ability, expect his goal-contribution stats to continue to improve.
Got Mitrovic to believe again
Life at Fulham could not have begun better for Mitrovic. Four goals in his first four games ensured the Fulham faithful quickly had a new hero, but such highs were shortlived, as the goals dried up, dramatically.
Before his header to level things up against Southampton, Mitrovic had gone 585 minutes without a league goal, but perhaps Ranieri’s lofty opinion of Mitrovic rubbed off on the Serbia international at Craven Cottage.
“For me Mitrovic is one of the best strikers in Europe. When I say Europe, let’s say the world,” Ranieri eulogised after the match. “He’s only 24 years old, he’s a fantastic player.”
Mitrovic’s two brilliantly-taken goals against Southampton were not the finishes of a man shorn of confidence, with his first header guided home with perfection, before his volleyed winner stunned the masses in west London. Ranieri’s positivity, which he is noted for, has already revitalised a striker in desperate need of goals. Another goalscoring run could now be in the offing as a result.
Fight, fight, fight
There are some very simple techniques adopted by many a great leader to drill the message into their respective charges, and wily old Ranieri is no stranger to such tactics.
“We must battle hard,” Ranieri said in his programme notes. “I try to improve the fighting spirit of the players. In our position, quality is not enough. Combining quality with fighting spirit, we can do a good job. We need to get to work right now.”
Fulham splashed the cash in the summer, but brought in some real quality players, pipping plenty of high-profile clubs to the signing of Jean Michael Seri for example. But the problem has not been a lack of quality, more that as soon as they fell behind in a game, capitulation would follow. Nothing to do with quality, just simple fighting spirit.
Ranieri identified this area of weakness straight away and mentioned it in almost every interview he did this week, before hammering home the message in his programme notes.
And the message certainly got through to his players. When Southampton took the lead, Fulham raised their game, and got angry. They still had to hold on at the end, but every player was behind the ball in stoppage time, throwing themselves in the way for the cause. It is such an easy thing to overlook, but in a game of such fine margins, those willing to do battle could well win the day.
