Fulham wrapped up its preseason stay in Portugal with a 4-2 friendly victory over Saudi club Al-Ittihad on Wednesday. The Cottagers ran out to a 4-0 lead with a dominant first half performance. Things slowed down for Marco Silva's squad in the second half, but overall it was an encouraging outing.
Offensive Explosion Produces Four Goals in First 45 Minutes
It didn't take long for Fulham to get on the scoreboard, as Harry Wilson was able to put one past the keeper from just outside the penalty area at the 7' mark. That makes three matches this preseason in which Wilson has found the back of the net.
Emile Smith Rowe kept things rolling 15 minutes later, popping the ball right over the head of Al-Ittihad keeper, Hamed Al Shanqiti. Sasa Lukic set things up in transition with a great lead pass.
39 minutes in, Fulham again hit pay dirt. This time it was Josh King capitalizing on a brilliant cross to the far post from the veteran, Tom Cairney.
Cairney to King. 🤍 pic.twitter.com/CeHoNlBPnU
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) July 30, 2025
And then, a minute into stoppage time, Jorge Cuenca capped off the scoring for his team off a corner kick from Wilson. Cuenca took the feed at the top of the box and swept it home with his left leg to make it 4-0 at the half.
Al-Ittihad Strikes Back in the Second Half, But It Wasn't Enough
Things slowed down considerably in the first part of the second half as both teams made several lineup changes. In the 68th minute, Issa Diop made a tentative pass back to newly acquired keeper, Benjamin Lecomte, who then turned the ball over to Al-Ittihad striker Karim Benzema. In the commotion, Diop was whistled for a penalty. Lecomte was able to stop Benzema's penalty attempt, but the striker found his own rebound and scored the Saudi squad's first goal.
Just six minutes later, Benzema got another one past Lecomte, this time on a breakaway run past Fulham reserve Ben Esenga. It was all set up by an errant Andreas Pereira corner kick at the other end.
Al-Ittihad had another breakaway opportunity later in the match, but Lecomte made a fine save to keep the score at 4-2.
Next Up for Fulham
Fulham's next scheduled warmup comes on 9 August at Craven Cottage against Bundesliga club, Eintracht Frankfurt. Reports suggest there may be another friendly scheduled in the meantime, on 2 August against Sheffield United.
Fulham kicks off the Premier League schedule on 16 August at Brighton.
