Iwobi Goal Gives Fulham First Premier League Win of Season and Arbeloa First Victory
Fulham recorded their first Premier League win of the season by beating Hull City 1-0 at Craven Cottage on Saturday, October 17. Alex Iwobi scored the only goal, and the victory was also the first Premier League win of head coach Álvaro Arbeloa's managerial career.
Fulham had not won any of their first six league matches, drawing two and losing four, and Arbeloa had faced scrutiny over his future. The hosts took control early. They had 10 first-half shots, their second-most in the opening 45 minutes of a Premier League match this season, behind only the 13 they had against Crystal Palace in September.
The breakthrough came in the 33rd minute. Hull failed twice to clear their lines, and Iwobi's effort deflected before it went through the goalkeeper, Konstantinos Tzolakis. It was Iwobi's 36th Premier League goal, which puts him level with Peter Odemwingie as the joint sixth-highest-scoring Nigerian in the competition's history. He was the standout performer on the day. He had five shots, created three chances and completed 57 passes. He is the first Fulham player since Bryan Ruiz against Swansea City in December 2012 to do all three in a Premier League match.
Fulham could not find a second goal to settle the match, and their finishing was poor at times. Hull struggled to make an impact, and created little. They failed to register a single shot on target in a Premier League match for the first time since they played Crystal Palace in May 2017. Fulham finished with 1.78 expected goals against 0.18 for Hull.
The mood dipped slightly late on when Ryan Sessegnon was sent off in stoppage time for a poor challenge, but Fulham held on. It was their second clean sheet of the season. Calvin Bassey captained Fulham, and Semi Ajayi played for Hull.
The result lifts Fulham out of the bottom three. Hull stay ninth on nine points, but they have now gone five league matches without a win. Arbeloa said his side were brilliant for 90 minutes, and Hull head coach Sergej Jakirović admitted that Fulham were superior in every department.