Ranieri believes Fulham can make up a five-point deficit at the bottom of the table
Fulham manager Claudio Ranieri is confident of his team’s survival mission in the Premier League after the Cottagers came back from two goals down to claim all three points with a 4-2 humbling of Brighton at home on Tuesday night.
Glenn Murray’s brace early in the game put the Seagulls in a position of strength but Ranieri tinkered with his formation to turn his team’s fortunes around.
Absolutely livid with the poor coordination amongst the three men at the back, Ranieri hooked Tim Ream and brought on Tom Cairney to switch to a back four.
Calum Chambers pulled one back in the 47th minute before Aleksandar Mitrovic’s brace and Luciano Vietto’s first Premier League goal capped off a remarkable comeback to keep Fulham’s hopes alive.
The Cottagers are still five points adrift of safety but Ranieri feels his team can make up the deficit and beat the drop.
“It means we are alive,” Ranieri told a news conference after a breathless encounter at a snowy Craven Cottage.
“It’s a little step but that means we are alive and it’s very important. I want to see this fighting spirit again. For us all the matches are tough.
“It was a very strange match. We were down after the 17th minute, 2-0, but believe me, at that moment I said it’s much better [to be behind] at the beginning. We reacted and Chambers’ goal gave us more confidence. We deserved to win.
“Tonight we gave some good balls to Mitrovic. He is very dangerous with the crosses into the box. It’s important to deliver the ball and the assist to Calum was great.
“We believe always, but I tell to my players: Enjoy, but tomorrow morning we restart.”
