Alex Iwobi Achieves Century Milestone as Fulham Reach Next Round
Nigerian International, Alex Iwobi, achieved a century milestone on Sunday evening as Fulham defeated Stoke City 2-1 to move into the next round of the FA Cup.
The 29-year-old midfielder played all 90 minutes at the Bet365 Stadium, as goals from Kevin and Winston Reed pushed Marco Silva’s team to the next round of the FA Cup.
It was a milestone appearance for the Nigerian midfielder, as he played his 100th game in a Fulham shirt since joining from Everton.
The ex-Arsenal man becomes the 183rd player to have crossed the 100-game threshold for the Cottagers.
Only Raul Jimenez (103), Rodrigo Muniz (109), Kenny Tete (140), Bernd Leno (144), Ryan Sessengnon (164), Harry Wilson (176), and Tom Cairney (374) in Fulham’s current squad have more appearances than Iwobi.
Tosin Adarabioyo also played 132 games for Fulham, while Edwin Van Der Sar accrued 154 appearances.
Iwobi joined Fulham from Everton in the summer of 2023 for €25.7m and immediately became a mainstay in the first team. It is also worth noting that Marco Silva played a huge role in the Nigerian’s development.
The Portuguese manager brought Iwobi to Everton during his time with the Merseysiders, before doing the same when he took over the coaching reins at Fulham.
The one-time FA Cup winner played 30 league games in his first season at Craven Cottage, but followed it with an impeccable campaign the following year, playing in all of Fulham’s 38 games.
He also achieved a personal milestone with the Cottagers earlier this season, becoming the Nigerian player with the most Premier League appearances.
In 100 games for Fulham, Iwobi has scored 17 goals and provided 10 assists across all competitions. He’s now played at least a hundred games for all of the clubs he’s been with – Arsenal (149) and Everton (149).
Speaking to FFCtv immediately after the match, Fulham coach, Marco Silva, explained why it was impossible to leave Alex Iwobi out of the starting lineup.
Interestingly, the Portuguese tactician made 10 changes from the side that lost 3-0 to Manchester City on Wednesday night, with Iwobi the only player that retained his place in the starting lineup.
As a result of the squad rotation, Calvin Bassey found himself on the bench while Samuel Chukwueze didn’t make the matchday squad.
Since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, Iwobi has been one of Fulham’s most relied-upon players, featuring for 448 of a possible 450 minutes across all competitions.
Silva revealed that Iwobi had to be in the starting lineup owing to squad limitations.
“Alex, another game, it was not possible to rest him. Probably it was a good game to rest him, but we don’t have many solutions to do so, and the backline was solid enough,” Marco Silva said.
After Stoke City broke the deadlock, Iwobi came close to marking his 100th appearance for Fulham with a goal, but his header drifted just inches wide of the left post.
