Alex Iwobi: Fulham Coach Explains Super Eagles Star’s Substitution After 33 Minutes Against Forest

• Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey suffered defeat in Fulham's Premier League tie against Nottingham Forest
• Marco Silva opened up on the reason behind substituting the Nigerian stars after just 33 minutes of play
• Iwobi, alongside Harry Wilson and Sasa Lukic, were replaced by the Portuguese very early in the match

Fulham coach, Marco Silva, has disclosed why Super Eagles midfielder, Alex Iwobi, and others were substituted during his team's 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League.

The London-based club were down by two goals in the first twenty minutes, with goals from Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood.

Silva wanted to change how his team was set up and decided to make three changes very early in the game.

Iwobi, alongside Harry Wilson and Sasa Lukic, were replaced with Adama Traore, Willian, and Tom Cairney after just 33 minutes of play.

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The changes by the former Everton boss failed to be effective in the match as Morgan Gibbs-White scored a late goal before the break to give the home side a 3-0 lead.

Former Manchester City star, Tosin Adarabioyo, scored a header very early in the second half, but it ended as a consolation goal for the Cottagers.

In a post-match interview on Fulham's official website, Silva claimed he wanted to see some reactions, and it was not the player's fault for being substituted early in the game.

"I wanted to see a reaction. I want to be clear it was not the fault of the players who came off," he said.

"At that moment, if I could have changed more, I would have. I do not want to highlight those three players; it was not their fault.

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"At that moment, I wanted to keep more of the ball & with Tom Cairney & Willian. They are able to do that. I wanted to create some one v ones on the right-hand side, and Adama [Traore] is able to do that."

Iwobi opens up on abuse

Sports Brief earlier reported on Iwobi breaking his silence on the cyberbullying he faced after Nigeria's defeat against Ivory Coast in the AFCON 2023 final.

The former Arsenal star dismissed the abuse, adding that he has experienced cyberbullying many times in his career and prefers to stay off social media.