Interviews

I knew goal wouldn't count, says Lallana

Midfielder frustrated that Albion didn't beat Fulham, but pleased with performance.

By Bruce Talbot • 17 December 2020

By Paul Hazlewood
Adam Lallana's strike early on in the second half was ruled out by VAR.

Adam Lallana admitted he knew in the celebrations that his first Albion goal would not count.

The midfielder found the net early in the second half against Fulham on Wednesday but the VAR ruled that Danny Welbeck handled the ball in the build-up.

He said, “Danny knew straight away, he said to me during the celebration that it hit his hand so I kind of expected VAR to overturn it. It's a bit of a strange rule that one because his hands are down by his side and it's accidental.

“It's frustrating because in the second half we came out and I thought we were brilliant, we had a 20-25 minute period where we had a few huge chances.

“From set-pieces we were dangerous – Adam Webster hit the bar, Lewis Dunk had a couple of efforts. We were on the front foot, we were assertive and we were really in the game, whereas in the last two performances we lacked something, a bit of belief and impetus.

02:22

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Lallana's Fulham reaction

“We're not going to win every game, but as long as we put in performances where we are in the game and we're creating chances, that's where we want to be.”

Lallana's return was one of six changes by Graham Potter.

“When we play with the back five as we did last night we are really solid. Rob Sanchez made a couple of big saves and considering it was only his second Premier League appearance I thought he did very well. We got a clean sheet, there's many positives to build on, but we're still far from happy with where we are in the table and the points tally we have.”

Albion return to action against Sheffield United on Sunday.

“It's another massive game,” added Lallana. “Sheffield United haven't had the best of starts so they're going to be really up for it. It's about time we got a home win as well. We'll recover and look forward to it.”

01:37

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PL: Fulham 0 Albion 0