Calvin Bassey named Fulham Man of the Match in Arsenal game
Calvin Bassey has been voted the Man of the Match by Fulham fans in the Cottagers’ 2-1 defeat of Arsenal at Craven Cottage on New Year’s eve.
The Nigerian was described as ‘an absolute rock at the heart of Fulham defence’ by the club’s official website as the defender secured 34.4% of the votes to win.
Bassey who joined Fulham from Dutch Eredivise side, Ajax last summer did not allow Arsenal attackers no time to settle, limiting them to just three shots on target all game, while he also boasted a season-best pass accuracy of 95.2 per cent.
Fulham coach, Marco Silva hailed the Nigerian’s gritty display that helped halt a run of losses.
‘What a performance. What a performance. It’s his birthday and it was a nice way to celebrate, but what a performance from him.
‘He’s really growing and showing that we took the right decision when we signed a player like him, a player with great, great skills to be a top central defender in the future.
‘Right now, he is a very good central defender. I really believe that if he keeps improving, understanding what we want from the game, he is going to be a very, very good level central defender for many years in this football club.
‘He’s strong, he’s quick, he has quality on the ball, always has the right mindset to learn, to listen, to improve every single day. I’m really pleased for him. Unfortunately, we are going to lose him for a long time now because he’s going to the Africa Cup of Nations.’
