Marco Silva praised the “almost unstoppable” Adama Traore after his standout performance helped Fulham secure their third consecutive win in all competitions with a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
Following their 2-1 league win against Newcastle at St James’ Park earlier this month and their FA Cup triumph over Wigan last week, Fulham maintained their strong form with goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Calvin Bassey.
Despite Chris Wood scoring his 18th goal of the season, it wasn’t enough for third-placed Forest, who saw Bournemouth and Manchester City narrow the gap in the race for Champions League qualification.
Traore showcased glimpses of his best form, with his cross for Smith Rowe’s opener in the 15th minute being one of several quality deliveries during the match.
“I’m really pleased for him, it was a great cross and he had chances to score and I like to see the Adama like we saw today,” said Fulham boss Silva.
“He was balanced today and I don’t remember one ball he gave away and he needs to take risks and the assist was great.
“Throughout the game he was much more involved in everything and this is how I want to see him because his capacity is almost unstoppable and we need to give him the tools to play like he did this afternoon.”
After Smith Rowe’s headed goal past Matz Sels, Calvin Bassey added Fulham’s second with a header of his own, connecting with Raul Jimenez’s flick-on in the second half.
Silva acknowledged that his team’s aerial prowess was something they had focused on in recent training sessions.
“We expected them to come with the five defenders and so we knew the space would be out wide,” he added.
“The first goal is something we have worked on with the players to arrive in the box with the pocket players or the wingers. The move from Emile and the assist from Adama is something we have been working on.”
