Arbeloa questions Fulham defence in win over West Ham

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Alvaro Arbeloa questioned the performance of his Fulham defence following their EFL Cup win over West Ham on Tuesday.

Fulham triumphed 3-2 at the London Stadium, with Oscar Bobb scoring a 78th-minute winner to secure the Cottagers’ place in the fourth round of the competition.

Arbeloa’s side twice took the lead in the first half before being pegged back to 2-2 heading into the break.

Rodrigo Muniz scored the opener, which was cancelled out by Morato, while Pablo levelled in first-half stoppage time for West Ham after Cesar Palacios’ strike.

Both sides also missed big chances through Valentin Castellanos and Palacios, with Fulham accumulating 2.48 expected goals (xG) to West Ham’s 1.63.

While Arbeloa took plenty of positives from the win, he was not entirely impressed with Fulham’s defensive display.

“We had a very good first half, but I’m still asking how we conceded two goals because we were in control of the game perfectly,” Arbeloa told Sky Sports.

— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) September 15, 2026

“We had many chances. We had the feeling the game was under control, so we were disappointed going into half-time. 

“We need to be a little bit more aggressive when we are defending. But everything that we worked on in the last two days, we did on the pitch.

“We have so many young players with talent, and we need to be patient with them.

“We need to help them, develop them, but you can see the talent they have, the quality. They understand the game, and they will grow during the season.”

Fulham have now won three of their last four away games at West Ham in all competitions (L1), more victories than they managed in their previous 13 (W1 D4 L8).

The Cottagers have progressed from eight of their last nine EFL Cup ties against lower-league opponents, and they will now be part of Wednesday’s fourth-round draw.

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