View: West Brom fans have one player to thank for loss v Fulham not being much worse
West Brom slipped into the relegation zone on Monday night after losing 2-0 to Fulham at Craven Cottage.
It was a night to forget for the Baggies as very few if any, Albion plays left the capital with any dignity after being dominated by a poor Fulham team.
After the game, Slaven Bilic claimed that only Conor Gallagher and Branislav Ivanovic showed the proper levels of commitment on Monday night.
Gallagher was clearly Albion’s best player against the Cottagers but Ivanovic’s performance has gone under the radar. From taking a look at the stats it is clear to see that without the Serbian’s intervention Monday’s scoreline could have been a lot less flattering.
Against Fulham Ivanovic won 86% of his defensive duels and 86% of his loose ball duels according to Wyscout. This shows that most of the time the Serbian was successful in his defensive efforts which suggests it might not have been him who let Albion down on Monday.
Ivanovic also made six interceptions, 16 recoveries and four clearances across the 96 minutes he played which is a testament to how busy the 36-year-old was while trying to repel the Fulham attack.
More general stats also suggest that the former Chelsea man put in a solid performance. 78% of Ivanovic’s total actions were successful and he won 75% of his total duels. This shows that the defender actually performed better than he did when Albion picked up their first and only clean sheet of the season.
In that game against Burnley, only 73% of Ivanovic’s total actions were successful and he only won 61% of his duels against the Clarets. This shows that the 36-year-old actually turned in a performance against Fulham that would normally merit a clean sheet. And, again, this suggests that it is Albion’s other players who let the side down on Monday.
Despite the Baggies’ poor start to the season and less than ideal defensive record, Ivanovic has definitely improved a backline that is seriously lacking in Premier League experience. The stats from the Fulham game prove that he is performing well and he shouldn’t be criticised for West Brom’s poor form.
In other West Brom news, Simon Jordan has slammed a decision made by the Baggies.
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