Confident Marco Silva makes 'extra man' claim about Leeds United's defeat versus Fulham

Fulham head coach Marco Silva struck a confident tone during his post-match press conference at Elland Road on Sunday after condemning Leeds to a fourth straight defeat in the Premier League.

Silva insisted his side were deserving of their three points, which lifted Fulham to seventh in the table. The Portuguese coach did acknowledge the ‘12th man’ facing his team, referencing the Elland Road crowd, admitting his preparations for Sunday’s contest factored in the home support.

"A great win for us and well deserved in my opinion,” Silva began. “The 95 minutes, we are the best team on the pitch.”

"We knew before the match what it means to play at Elland Road. It is difficult for all the teams to come here to get points from the game. It’s a place that you really feel that in some moments they can play with that extra man - an extra man is the crowd. They are really supportive and they can push the team forward in certain moments of the game,” the 45-year-old added.

“Last week they did a fantastic game here against Arsenal. Some weeks ago they did the same against Chelsea as well. We knew that in the beginning of the match the pressure will be really tough to beat in some moments, but you knew as well that the moment that you can show the quality to beat that pressure, the spaces will appear for us.”

Fulham punished Leeds and under pressure head coach Jesse Marsch, scoring twice in the second half, rendering Crysencio Summerville’s stoppage time finish a mere consolation. United next face an ailing Liverpool side at Anfield, for which Marsch expects to remain at the helm.