"They scored at a moment when we were actually in control of the game, and to be honest, it happened at a time when we shouldn't have been playing with 10 men," Silva was quoted as saying on Fulham's official website.
Crystal Palace opened the scoring in the 39th minute after Jean Philippe-Mateta headed home. However, controversy arose as Fulham were playing with 10 men at the time of the goal as center-back Jorge Cuenca was undergoing medical treatment on the sidelines.
Silva said Cuenca's reaction to falling due to an arm hitting his face was normal. He added that there was no reason to call the medical team because the Spanish defender immediately got up, even after medical staff had entered the field.
"Okay, if it's a concussion, we can feel it, it can be dangerous and it's necessary to call the medical staff. But not every incident like that has to be like that. This afternoon, there was absolutely no reason for Cuenca to be off the pitch at that moment," said the Portuguese tactician.
He explained that if Cuenca had been present at that moment, the opposing goal could have been prevented. He believed they could have defended better in that situation, and there was no reason to play with 10 men.
Fulham were held to a 1-1 draw away to Crystal Palace in the 2025/2026 Premier League season at Selhurst Park Stadium in London on Friday morning WIB. Tom Cairney scored the winner (80'), while Jean Philippe-Mateta headed home the winner (39').
With this result, Emile Smith Rowe and his teammates remain stuck in 11th place in the Premier League standings with 27 points from 19 matches. They are just behind Crystal Palace on the same points but trailing on goal difference.
Fulham currently has a -1 goal difference, while Crystal Palace has a one goal difference which puts them below Palace.
