Assessing Joao Palhinha and his role in Fulham's fine start
Fulham have certainly defied pre-season expectations. Many tipped the Cottagers to drop straight back into the Championship once more and to live up to their yo-yo tag in the process, yet after seven games, they occupy a spot inside the top six. Admittedly they have played a match more than some of those around them, yet to have accrued 11 points so far, a figure it took until the 15th game to reach in their last Premier League campaign, is commendable to say the least.
Marco Silva deserves plenty of praise for the way he has masterminded their fine start to 2022/23, especially as Fulham have already played established top six trio Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham. Granted, Fulham earned just one point from those three games, yet importantly they are picking up points elsewhere.
They've beaten Brentford, Brighton and Nottingham Forest and do, in theory, have a navigable October that means they should continue to gradually pick up points. This comes also after a lack of investment in the squad ahead of the start of the season last month. While Fulham have previously overspent on new faces, with a raft of new additions failing to have the desired effect at Craven Cottage, Silva did bemoan the lack of action in the market prior to their campaign getting underway against Liverpool at the start of August.
However, Fulham did make one crucial addition before the season kicked off. At the start of July, the west London side confirmed the signing of Joao Palhinha. The 27-year-old had previously been linked with a Premier League switch, yet Sporting CP had rejected the chance to cash in on the Portugal international. A reported £20m bid from Fulham was too good to turn down and Sporting's loss has certainly been Fulham's gain.
Aleksandar Mitrovic has been the stand out performer in west London this season, the Serb rattling in six league goals for Silva's side; only Erling Haaland (11) has more in England's top tier. His goalscoring exploits have drawn widespread adulation, and deservedly so, with Mitrovic previously shining in the Championship, only to struggle in the Premier League, his 43-goal haul testament to the former.
Yet while Fulham have been excellent going forward, it would have been far worse without Palhinha operating at the base of the midfield. The Portugal international has formed an impressive partnership with Harrison Reed in the middle of the park in Silva's favoured 4-2-3-1 setup with his WhoScored rating of 7.06 the second best of all Fulham players.
Fulham have conceded 11 league goals this season, the fifth most in the division, yet Palhinha has brought about some much-needed defensive resolve that had been found wanting in previous seasons on the back of their promotion. Too often, newly promoted sides will focus their efforts in the market in strengthening in attack without working on the defence, and this has proven the downfall of previous Fulham sides.
Palhinha, though, has brought the necessary solidity from Lisbon to London. Indeed, Palhinha has made more tackles (32) than any other player in Europe's top five leagues this season, and this means that Fulham are actually conceding fewer shots per game (13.4) than the likes of Tottenham (15) and Manchester United (14.7).
When holding midfielders are signed, they rarely earn the plaudits, however Fulham are sat where they are in the league at this stage in part due to Palhinha's hard work off the ball and his relative composure when he does win possession. A pass success rate of 81.7% is the second best of all Fulham players and while there is work to be done to improve upon this return, relative to their lowly possession average of 41.9%, that the third lowest, Palhinha is carrying out his necessary duties well.
Conversely, a player in Palhinha's role for a Fulham side that sees little of the ball will often find themselves in hot water with officials. While he has committed just nine fouls across seven appearances this season - Joelinton, Boubacar Kamara and Scott McTominay (all 15) lead this metric - Palhinha has already been booked five times this season, and it means he'll miss the welcome of Newcastle after the international break.
Palhinha's enforced absence will impact Fulham's quest for another three points, yet the positives certainly outweigh this negative in the player's early months in England. Mitrovic's six goals may have earned Fulham five points this season, yet the 28-year-old, and his attacking teammates, have the freedom to hurt opponents due to Palhinha's positional discipline and willingness to sit deep and shield the defence, something he has done to a very high standard during his short time at Craven Cottage.
