Antonee Robinson and Fulham inched closer to a top-ten finish in the Premier League as they beat former champions Leicester City.
Fulham 5-3 Leicester City
Fulham was in devastating form on the day as they hit Leicester hard and often to secure the win at Craven Cottage on Monday.
Antonee Robinson started in his usual left-back position, completing 58 percent of his passes, winning a duel, and making one key pass in his 90-plus minutes of action on the field.
It didn’t take long for the hosts to open the scoring as Brazilian midfielder Willian found the back of the net with a free-kick from the left side of the field. His compatriot Carlos Vinicius doubled their lead eight minutes later when Harry Wilson threaded a pass to him, leaving the opportunity to slot it past Leicester goalkeeper Daniel Iversen.
Tom Cairney extended Fulham’s lead in the 44th minute with a curling shot that hit the side netting to give them a very comfortable lead heading into halftime.
The Cottagers kept the momentum going as the game restarted when Cairney added a second on the day in the 51st minute. Robinson started the counter-attack from the back with a pass to Kenny Tete. The Dutchman was left with acres of space to push the ball forward as he crossed to the Scottish midfielder to bury home.
Leicester has struggled all this season, but they pulled one back in the 59th minute when Harvey Barnes collected a pass from James Maddison to fire his shot on the underside of the crossbar and into the goal.
However, Fulham restored their four-goal lead in the 70th minute with a long-range strike that Iversen had no chance to stop.
The hosts were on top of their game today but had to hold on in the latter stages of the contest as they surrendered two goals to Maddison and Barnes in the 81st and 89th minutes respectively.
Fulham remains in 10th place in the standings with 48 points.
Manchester City 2-1 Leeds United
Even on their third coach this season, Leeds United couldn’t find a win to alleviate some of the pressure of possible relegation as they fell to league leaders Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Weston McKennie kept his spot in the starting lineup under new coach Sam Allardyce, completing 74 percent of his passes, winning a duel, and making one tackle along with a key pass. Brenden Aaronson played the final 10 minutes of the game.
The visitors found themselves in a hole after 19 minutes when Iikay Gundogan linked up with Riyad Mahrez as the Algerian found the German midfielder at the top of the 18-yard box and he fired his shot into the lower right side of the goal. The pair teamed up again to double their team’s lead in the 27th minute with literally the same setup. Mahrez took the ball on the right side, passed it to the captain at the top of the box, and scored.
City was dominant throughout the course of the game and should have scored more goals as they went into the second half, but they wouldn’t come.
Leeds did cut the deficit in the 85th minute when Rodrigo found the back of the net. City failed to properly clear the ball from the back which allowed the Spaniard to pounce and put his shot past Ederson.
That would wrap it up as Leeds now finds themselves in a difficult position following wins by Everton and Nottingham Forest.
Leeds now sits in 19th place in the standings with 30 points, two away from safety.
Americans Move On in the EFL
A host of Americans in England’s lower will find themselves playing more as their respective teams have qualified for the promotion play-off stage.
In probably the most thrilling game to end the regular season in the Championship, Lynden Gooch and Sunderland secured a 3-0 win over Preston North End to take sixth place and book a spot in the playoffs after Millwall fell in a 4-3 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.
Gooch and the Black Cats will face Ethan Horvath and Luton Town in the semifinals. Horvath was rested on the day as the Hatters settled for a 0-0 tie with Hull City.
Zack Steffen was between the posts for Middlesbrough in their 1-1 tie with Coventry City as both teams will face off again in the two-leg semifinal.
In League One, the regular season has ended, but Alex Mighten will look to help Sheffield Wednesday win promotion back to the Championship as they start the playoffs against Peterborough United next week.
Charlie Kelman wrapped up his loan to Leyton Orient in League Two as they finished ahead of the pack to earn automatic promotion to League One. They ended their season with a 1-1 tie with Bradford City.
Notes
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Christian Pulisic was an unused substitute as Chelsea took some gloom off their dismal season with a 3-1 win at Bournemouth.
Chris Richards was on the bench for Crystal Palace as they went down to a Harry Kane goal in a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Matt Turner was on the bench as usual as Arsenal remained in the thick of the title race following their 2-0 win at Newcastle United.
