Fulham 2-1 Leicester: Alex Iwobi nets second-half winner after Emile Smith Rowe scores his first goal for his new club as Marco Silva’s men earn their opening win of the season

Emile Smith-Rowe hinted that he can be the man to take Fulham to the next level this season after scoring a fine goal on his home debut to help his side to a 2-1 win over Leicester City.

The former Arsenal man, making his first Premier League appearance at Craven Cottage following his £34m move across London this summer, gave Fulham a deserved lead on 18 minutes when he latched onto Adama Traore’s through ball and surged into the penalty area to finish beyond goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.

And another former Arsenal man, Alex Iwobi, struck in the second half with a fine solo goal to give Marco Silva’s side victory after Leicester had levelled in controversial circumstances through Wout Faes.

Much like in Leicester’s first half against Spurs, the newly promoted side found themselves under significant pressure with Adama Traore, Alex Iwobi and Rodrigo Muniz all testing Hermansen, though Foxes attacker and former Fulham man Bobby De Cordova Reid forced Bernd Leno into a diving stop from his long-range strike.

But Smith-Rowe made Fulham’s early dominance count with a fantastic run and finish. It has been a frustrating past year for the 24-year-old, who struggled for game time under Gunners’ boss Mikel Arteta but showed why Silva was so keen to bring him to the club.

Emile Smith Rowe scored his first Fulham goal and hinted he could take the club to a new level

Smith Rowe provided a fantastic run and finish after being played through by Adama Traore

Wout Faes (right) controversially brought Leicester level in the closing stages of the first half

The home side were made to pay for missed chances, however, when Faes headed in an equaliser after Fulham forward Rodrigo Muniz had himself headed marginally wide from Antonee Robinson’s cross.

Faes’ header from a Facundo Buonanotte corner was originally disallowed for an offside call on Jamie Vardy, who was deemed to have been blocking goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s line of sight while stood in an offside position, but a lengthy VAR check, including referee Darren Bond going over to the monitor, eventually saw the decision reversed and the goal stand.

But after Muniz had missed another big opportunity, skying an effort over the bar when goalscorer Faes had gifted the ball to Traore to pick out his fellow attacker, Iwobi ensured Fulham avoided the same fate as Spurs did against Leicester by grabbing a winner on 70 minutes.

A lovely sweeping first-time pass from full-back Robinson saw the 28-year-old race through on goal down the left-hand side and finish via a deflection off goalkeeper Hermansen to give his side a deserved victory.