Ruud van Nistelrooy BOOED by home fans as second-half goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traore condemn Foxes to seventh straight Premier League defeat
Ruud van Nistelrooy felt the wrath of angry Leicester fans as they slumped to a seventh consecutive leave defeat at a toxic King Power Stadium.
Seven weeks after being appointed to great excitement, the Dutchman’s decision to substitute the creative Bilal El Khannouss at 1-0 was greeted by boos and chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing”.
Fed-up supporters also called for the head of director of football Jon Rudkin and sang “Sack the Board” – never a good sign for managers in case owners are looking for a scapegoat.
Van Nistelrooy didn’t try to hide the reality afterwards: ‘We weren’t good enough in all aspects of the game,’ admitted the Dutchman.
‘I have to accept the reaction but because the crowd boo one substitution, it doesn’t mean I have to explain the reasons.
‘The players have to deal with the situation. We are professional.
Fulham cruised past relegation strugglers Leicester to win 2-0 at the King Power Stadium
The Foxes have now lost their last seven Premier League games and languish in 19th place
Ruud van Nistelrooy was berated by Leicester fans despite him enduring a short tenure so far
‘Sometimes you deserve criticism because it wasn’t good enough. Now we have to stick together more than ever. That is key to survive.’
The Foxes are next-to-bottom and have kept only one league clean sheet all season. Even when they compete, as they did for half-an-hour yesterday, conceding the first goal kills them.
Fulham were good enough to take advantage. Emile Smith-Rowe stooped to put them ahead after 48 minutes on his hundredth Premier League appearance and Adama Traore volleyed a second.
When Jordan Ayew was eventually withdrawn by Van Nistelrooy after missing chances, there were ironic cheers from Foxes fans who wanted him gone earlier.
The irony is Leicester started brightly with Ayew denied by Bernd Leno and 38-year-old Jamie Vardy nearly forcing Timothy Castagne into an own goal.
The Londoners began to improve towards the end of the first half with Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey and Antonee Robinson all threatening and they were rewarded by going in front after the interval.
Raul Jimenez played in Harry Wilson and when he hooked the ball across the box Sasa Lukic nodded on for Smith-Rowe to net his first goal since November.
The protest songs began immediately and Van Nistelrooy’s unpopular double change backfired when Fulham doubled their lead after 68 minutes.
Lukic ran through the Leicester midfield unchallenged. Wilson crossed from the left and Traore, a substitute for the unwell Iwobi, finished first-time.
Attacking midfielder Emile Smith Rowe put Fulham ahead shortly after half time
Adama Traore (centre) sealed the win for Fulham with a late strike
Fulham are just five points off the top four and are well in the fight for European qualification
At 2-0, Van Nistelrooy sent on Facundo Buonanotte and Patson Daka. It felt like too little too late, and that’s how the fans saw it.
Even Fulham manager Marco Silva said: ‘I have sympathy for Ruud but he doesn’t need it – he is a professional and knows the job.’
At least, Van Nistelrooy was able to end his post-match inquest by paying tribute to his old neighbour Denis Law who died last week.
‘How lucky was I, having a couple of tea with him in his kitchen. He had a statue outside Old Trafford but was the most humble person you could meet.’
