MARCO Silva described himself as both angry and pleased after 10-man Fulham secured a 2-2 draw at Arsenal.
The Cottagers stunned their north London hosts by taking the lead after just 57 seconds.
A misplaced pass by Bukayo Saka was latched on to by Andreas Pereira, who beat Aaron Ramsdale with a shot from outside the box, much to the Arsenal keeper’s obvious embarrassment.
It took until the 70th minute for the Gunners to draw level and it required a penalty to do so, Kenny Tete fouling Fabio Vieira before Saka sent Bernd Leno the wrong way from the spot.
Fulham fell behind two minutes later as substitute Eddie Nketiah swept home from an inviting Vieira delivery, although Calvin Bassey was still down injured in the box following an earlier challenge by Saka.
Silva earned a caution for his touchline protests about that and there was more frustration for the visitors when Bassey collected his second yellow of the game on 83 minutes for a foul on Nketiah.
But against all the odds, it was the Cottagers who drew level to rescue a point when Joao Palhinha (celebrating above) converted from Harrison Reed’s 87th minute corner.
When asked by ‘Match of the Day’ for his post-match verdict, Silva admitted to having mixed emotions about the game.
The Fulham boss explained: “Strange, angry – it’s a good point. I agree with all of that.
“A great reaction from ourselves from the last result (0-3 defeat to Brentford).
“Many people said this would not be a good stadium to come to and show a reaction.
“We believed it could be the best place to come and show that.
“We did that from the first minute, the way we pressed them and took advantage of the mistake.
“Of course, Arsenal come back with more chances and shots and corners – I don’t need to see the stats. They push when they are losing.
“I have to mention the away fans as well, the way they support our team.
“They created some moments, although not big, big chances in the first half.
“One of the things we need to improve is on the ball, we need possession to rest a bit more and breathe.
“It is tough physically to always be running back to the ball.”
Silva also felt his side shot themselves in the put by conceding the spot kick which handed Arsenal their equaliser, but was also impressed how they held on to a point when a man down.
He said: “Until the penalty I thought the game was more or less under control.
“We have to be a bit more mature after they equalise.
“They score the second goal too quick and in my mind it was a foul on Calvin Bassey.
“At 10 men we showed the ambition and determination, and a capacity to keep believing in ourselves.
“After we equalised, we were brave to defend our box with 10 men.”
Fulham face north London opponents again on Tuesday evening when they host Spurs in the League Cup.
