Fulham Week in Review, Monday 2nd November: Suzuki Horror Show Hands Whites a Villa Park Point After Carabao Cup Exit
It's been a week of contrasting fortunes for Fulham, starting with a disappointing Carabao Cup exit before a dramatic draw away at Aston Villa. The headline moment of the week came courtesy of a Zion Suzuki blunder, with the Villa goalkeeper's error cancelling out Nicolas Jackson's opener to earn Fulham a 1-1 draw at Villa Park (Sky Sports) (West London Sport) (The Guardian) (Sky Sports) (Evening Standard) (BBC Sport) (GiveMeSport).
The midweek story was altogether more painful, as Fulham crashed out of the Carabao Cup at home to Crystal Palace, beaten 0-1 thanks to a deft Eddie Nketiah finish that sent the Eagles into the quarter-finals (Sky Sports) (The Guardian) (Sky Sports) (Sky Sports). The Guardian noted it was a fifth win for Palace over Fulham on their own turf in the space of 18 months, easing the pressure on Pierre Sage (The Guardian). Alvaro Arbeloa was left frustrated after the defeat and was pressed on his decision to again leave Emile Smith Rowe out of the squad (West London Sport) (West London Sport). A Fulham-supporting fan summed up the mood to the BBC, admitting he'd rather not sit through that particular derby with his Palace-supporting mate again (BBC Sport).
Attention then turned to Saturday's trip to Villa Park, with Fulham looking to end a lengthy losing run in this fixture (Sports Mole). Sander Berge came back into the side in place of Hugo Larsson, the only change to the starting line-up (West London Sport). The match ended goalless at half-time territory turning dramatic, with John McGinn missing a penalty for the hosts (Sky Sports), Jackson putting Villa ahead before the break (Sky Sports), and Zion Suzuki pulling off an earlier fine save to deny Oscar Bobb (Sky Sports) before his costly mistake let Alex Iwobi's effort in and gifted Fulham their equaliser (West London Sport) (BBC Sport). GiveMeSport felt Suzuki's poor afternoon had been somewhat overlooked given the result (GiveMeSport), while the Evening Standard suggested the point eased some of the pressure on Arbeloa (Evening Standard).
Arbeloa was bullish afterwards, making the bold claim that his Fulham side "can beat anyone" having ended their losing run at Villa Park (Sports Mole). He also praised one of his players for an "fantastic" return to form against Villa, according to West London Sport (West London Sport), and gave his thoughts in a post-match interview with the BBC (BBC Sport). A Fulham supporter described the draw as a "solid performance" to the BBC, particularly pleasing after the midweek cup setback (BBC Sport). West London Sport's player ratings had Bernd Leno amongst those praised for reacting sharply when called upon (West London Sport) (West London Sport).
Elsewhere, Arbeloa continued to address the futures of senior players this week. He reiterated that Emile Smith Rowe must be patient and wait for his chance, with the forward left out of the last three matchday squads as Josh King continues to impress in his position (West London Sport) (Sky Sports). The head coach also gave his backing to Antonee Robinson despite acknowledging the full-back's dip in form (Sky Sports). On a more positive note, West London Sport reports that Fulham are keen to tie Calvin Bassey down to a new contract, with the defender having made over a hundred Premier League appearances since joining from Craven Cottage in 2023 (West London Sport). In a wide-ranging Sky Sports interview, Arbeloa also discussed his side's early-season mistakes and how to get the best from Gonzalo Garcia (Sky Sports).
Looking ahead, Fulham now turn their focus to facing Aston Villa once more in the Premier League, with Fulham FC's own preview looking at the "new faces, same Villa" theme heading into the clash (FulhamFC.com), while Sports Mole also previewed team news, injuries and possible line-ups for both sides (Sports Mole) (Sports Mole) (Sports Mole). It was a busy Saturday for west London football generally, with Chelsea, Fulham, Brentford and QPR all in action (West London Sport). Finally, former Fulham winger Martial Godo, who spent three years at Craven Cottage, was spotted making headlines at Strasbourg after an eye-catching pre-match ritual preceded a big win (The Sun).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
