For Fulham, Wednesday night was a rare moment when Wembley, and the prospect of silverware, came within touching distance. It fuelled the furiously waved flags and the placards that read “Dare to Dream” before kick-off. For 10 days since the club’s last fixture against Chelsea, this match had been all-consuming. It was the only topic of discussion, for players and fans alike. These nights do not come around often and Fulham wanted a famous one.
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It was not to be.
A first major trophy remains out of reach. Liverpool looked like what they are: a team who have now reached a record 14 League Cup finals. They oozed self-assurance. Fulham, meanwhile, were caught up in the excitement of breaking new ground and just took too long to find their feet. Before they knew it, Luis Diaz had shrugged off Timothy Castagne and smuggled the ball past Bernd Leno. A one-goal deficit in the tie had become two. The rug had been swept from beneath their feet. Hope was put on hold.
It was the worst possible start. There was so much anticipation for this fixture that it was almost inevitable it would fuse with nerves on the field. Marco Silva’s team wanted this to be their moment; their Juventus, their Hamburg, their Derby, but they could not manage the emotions of it all quickly enough, creating a disjointed start. There were loose touches, over-excited passes and frustrated gestures at inexplicable decision-making.
The goal, just as Fulham were beginning to settle, wounded them and the crowd. “The first 30 minutes were difficult,” said head coach Silva. “We were probably more emotional and nervous. We couldn’t keep possession like normal.
“I felt that they were calmer than us. For them, it’s another game. For most of our players, apart from three or four or five, the others it’s new for them to play in a semi-final.”
Liverpool’s experience in reaching the latter stages of cup competitions was evident. “I liked our first 30 minutes a lot,” said manager Jurgen Klopp. “We were ready for this game. I heard Marco Silva’s press conference, I saw what it meant to them. We had to show we wanted it as much as they did.”
Even without Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool were every bit the formidable opponent that leads the Premier League table. In the second half, they showed the stylistic qualities that have meant they have lost only one league game all season. Their pressing was suffocating.
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Fulham were grasping for any way back into the tie, but every forward pass was a trigger for the visitors. At one stage in the second half, Joao Palhinha was forced onto auto-pilot, tackling and tackling before coming up for air and then tackling again as yet another relentless red wave engulfed his wearied team-mates.
But while Liverpool retained control, Fulham did have their moments. Palhinha missed an early chance from a corner before Diaz scored, and then, in the second half, Andreas Pereira could have levelled the score on the night — the goal was gaping but it was an acute angle and the post denied him. At Anfield, Fulham spurned a 1-0 lead and counter-attacking chances that could have doubled their advantage. “With better decisions, there were clear chances to score,” said Silva. “We were so competitive, but it makes the difference.”
That competitiveness was reflected by the way the team rallied late on here, inspired by Harry Wilson’s cameo. The goal from Issa Diop was the spark and it meant Fulham fans could dream until the very end. There was fight and resilience in this team and they made life exceptionally difficult for one of the best sides in the country, not for the first time.
Frustration will linger, but it reiterates how even stepping onto this stage was an achievement in itself. For years, Fulham have been also-rans in cup competitions, but now they have reached an FA Cup quarter-final and a Carabao Cup semi-final in successive seasons, twice just 90 minutes away from a first Wembley appearance in a domestic cup competition since their 1975 FA Cup final defeat.
🚨 ONE more goal for @FulhamFC and we have extra time!#EFL | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/0qs7KT5uDV
— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) January 24, 2024
Fulham have only ever reached the last four of a cup competition eight times in their entire history and had never reached the semi-finals of the League Cup. In this modern era, where super-rich super clubs operate on a different financial planet, dreams of deep cup runs should be for the birds. But that is not the case under Silva, who has elevated expectations and transformed the mindset of the club from one desperate to cling to Premier League status to a side feeling confident enough to compete with the very best.
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“Any club that is not used to being at this stage is going to grow,” Silva said. “For the players to develop and get used to it and not be so emotional and nervous at the beginning of these games, it comes with experience. It has been a two-and-a-half-year journey and we are growing. Last season, our Carabao Cup was not good enough (lost in the second round to Crawley Town). This season, we could reach the semi-finals. Last season, the FA Cup journey was really good as well. It is helping the club to grow.”
On Tuesday afternoon, in his pre-match press conference, Silva was asked about the prospect of his players etching their name into club folklore with success against Liverpool. Typically, he did not want to get ahead of himself before such a difficult encounter, but he made the point he did not want Wednesday night to be a one-off. “It’s another chance, but it’s not going to be the last one,” he said. “We look to this competition with ambition. It doesn’t matter the opposition, the players. It’s a great challenge but if the players do the right things, it won’t be the last one.”
That is how Silva has made Fulham, their fans and their players think since his arrival. It is a new mindset and one that should be savoured at Craven Cottage.
(Top photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
