Raúl Jiménez will turn 35 in May yet Fulham’s Mexican striker remains as vital to Marco Silva’s team as ever.
It is now approaching six years since his career was placed in serious jeopardy by a skull fracture but Jiménez exhibited precious few signs of wear and tear as his latest two goals, a second-half header and a penalty, sunk Sunderland.
Although Enzo Le Fée’s spot-kick briefly reduced the deficit, Alex Iwobi’s deft chip ensured Fulham’s victory, leaving the home side to rue the two clearcut chances missed by Romaine Mundle and Nilson Angulo.
While Silva’s players ended a run of three straight Premier League defeats, Régis Le Bris’s team are facing their first real wobble since winning last spring’s playoff final and are suffering a scoring drought from open play.
Their manager chose to address it by fielding a very attacking starting XI but the team’s balance did not seem quite right. Part of the problem was that, with Le Bris’s two new January signings, Jocelin and Angulo keen to serve as touchline hugging wingers, Fulham were able to find gaps in central midfield.
