João Palhinha’s leveller earns Fulham point and frustrates Brighton

Sodden, shivering and not quite smiling. Words that could have applied equally to both Marco Silva and Roberto De Zerbi after their sides shared the south-coast spoils.

For Silva, a point was satisfying. Remember, he could so easily have been thousands of miles away enjoying sunshine and riches untold. Saudi Arabia called; Silva said no. Instead, the ink on a contract extension keeping him at Fulham until 2026 is just about dry.

And it is afternoons like these, ones where his managerial mettle is tested to its maximum, that Silva relishes. Afternoons where a backs-against-the-bricks draw is earned via thought, determination, and a superb João Palhinha leveller. Remember, for all the plaudits (rightly) poured upon Brighton over the last 13 months, Silva has taken four points at the Amex.

For De Zerbi – a year to the day that Chelsea were swept aside, a result that will always be a touchstone of his Brighton reign - it all looked to be going to plan. Evan Ferguson scored a deserved first-half opener. Brighton controlled huge portions of the match. But they could not find a second, and it ended up being a gentle tug back earthwards following the highs of beating Ajax just 72-hours earlier.

Fulham’s intention was to frustrate. They constantly declined the hosts invitation to press. Sensible, that is just where Brighton want you. And so instead - with a back three and a pair of wingbacks instructed to remain within arm’s length of the touchline – Brighton pulled and stretched, they prodded and poked.

Adam Lallana showed just what a lovely footballer he remains. A shimmy and cross saw Simon Adringa almost poke Brighton into the lead. Bernd Leno got there first. Just. Then came their goal. Raúl Jiménez did not count on Igor Julio’s close attention and was pick-pocketed. Julio found Pascal Gross, who seemed puzzled by the space he was allowed to roam into.

Eventually he raised his head to spot Ferguson. Making a run? No, simply standing between Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream. In mitigation, the Fulham pair deemed Ferguson offside. And he would have been but for Calvin Bassey. One Ferguson right-footed touch. One left-footed finish made to look far easier than it was. One De Zerbi pirouette of joy.

The game needed chasing, but with an attack as potent as water, it was difficult, through the driving rain, to see how Fulham doing any catching. But when Jiménez – who, after 32 goalless league games, needs a purple patch more eye-catching than his side’s pink outfit to even pass for a centre-forward – departed just before the hour, something changed.

Not long before that Willian had warmed Jason Steele’s hands for the first time in the afternoon. “We’ve had a shot,” laughed the Fulham supporters behind the goal. They soon grimaced when, after Alex Iwobi’s blend of skill and balance took him to the by-line, he tripped on his own feet.

But a triple change, including Jiménez’s removal, brought Fulham to life. Suddenly, they pressed. Suddenly, Steele’s pass put Gross under pressure. Suddenly, Iwobi won possession and found the newly introduced Harry Wilson. His lay-off to Palhinha resulted in a spin-and-strike that left Steele standing. Brighton’s wait for a league clean sheet this season continues.

By then, De Zerbi’s frustration was evident. Had, soon after the break, Lewis Dunk’s bar-grazing free-kick been a few inches lower, the equaliser might not have happened. Had Palhinha been punished for a first-half elbow on Gross, the equaliser would not have happened.

The game’s last quarter was frantic, the complete opposite to the low intensity football that had come before it. Fulham’s shape, two banks of primal footballing screen, returned. Brighton pushed. Hard. Ansu Fati drew a save from Leno. Adam Webster’s looping header was nodded off the line by Robinson.

On the side-line things became increasingly tetchy. De Zerbi flung his baseball cap in disgust at a misplaced pass. Silva occupied every inch of his technical area. And then the whistle went. Hands were shaken. All in a day’s work.