Tag: fulham

  • Fulham vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers (English Premier League 2025-26)

    Fulham vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers (English Premier League 2025-26)

    Fulham vs. Wolverhampton was the first football/soccer game I went to during my November 2025 trip to London. My previous post covers West Ham vs. Newcastle and the one before it covers Crystal Palace vs. AZ Alkmaar. This was my 3rd time going to Craven Cottage and it was a great yet different experience from my previous visits.

    Background

    This was one of the games I went to during my trip to London in November of 2025. I have really enjoyed my previous Fulham games and this time I was looking forward to some new things. First, it was going to be my first time sitting in the Riverside Stand, which I had read good things about. Also, Fulham was going to play against Wolverhampton Wanderers, a team that currently has Jhon Arias, a key player in the Colombian national football team.

    Teams involved

    You can read about Fulham in a previous blog post.

    Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. is based in Wolverhampton, England. They play their home games at Molineaux Stadium (31,750 capacity) and are known as the Wolves. The team was founded in 1877 as St. Luke’s F.C. and was renamed to Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 years later. They returned to the Premier League in the 2018-19 season, after being away from the top tier of English football for some years.

    How I got tickets

    This time I followed the same process as the previous time I went to a Fulham game. You can read about it here.

    How I got to the game

    Like I did in my previous visit to Craven Cottage, I took the tube to the Putney Bridge station. From there, I walked by the Thames river to reach the stadium and it took just a few minutes. 

    Walking to Craven Cottage
    Walking to Craven Cottage

    By the way, a very cool part of this experience was seeing the players arrive at the stadium. I got there early enough to get some food near the team store and I noticed a group of people gathering as a bus arrived. I joined the group and got to see the arrival of the Fulham players first, including Raul Jimenez, a famous Mexican player. Then, the Wolverhampton players arrived and I got to see Jhon Arias enter Craven Cottage.

    Players' arrival
    Players’ arrival

    Since my seats were in the Riverside Stand I had to enter Craven Cottage through an entrance in the northwest corner of the stadium, by Stevenage Park. The Riverside Stand area was a great place to hang out before the game. I got a coffee, walked around, and enjoyed the sunshine and views of the River Thames. 

    Craven Cottage
    Craven Cottage
    Preparing for the match
    Preparing for the match

    The game

    Fulham quickly took control of the game and scored early in the first half (at the 9th minute) through a powerful shot from Ryan Sessegnon that was set up by a pass from Raul Jimenez

    First half action
    First half action

    Then, in the 35th minute, Wolverhampton lost a player as Emmanuel Agbadou was shown a red card for a foul on Josh King. Losing a player greatly limited Wolverhampton’s ability to seek a goal to tie the game and most of the action came from Fulham’s scoring opportunities.

    First half action
    First half action
    Jhon Arias by the cottage
    Jhon Arias by the cottage
    Jhon Arias
    Jhon Arias
    Game action
    Game action

    The 2nd half started with Fulham on the attack and those attempts finally yielded another goal in the 61st minute, from a long-range shot by Harry Wilson. In the 75th minute things went from bad to worse for Wolverhampton when Yerson Mosquera scored an own goal after a pass attempt from Ryan Sessegnon.

    Fulham goal celebration
    Fulham goal celebration

    This game was controlled by Fulham throughout and the home fans were very happy with the result. There was a good attendance by visiting Wolverhampton fans and they left disappointed, as their team lost another game and stayed at the bottom of the Premier League table.

    Second half action
    Second half action
    Second half action
    Second half action

    Leaving the stadium

    Unlike my previous Fulham game, I didn’t walk to the Hammersmith station and simply walked back to Putney Bridge and took the train back to central London.

    Leaving Craven Cottage
    Leaving Craven Cottage

    Conclusion

    This was another awesome English football experience. I landed in London that morning so I was concerned I’d miss the beginning of the game, but fortunately my flight was not delayed and I was able to get to my hotel quickly with the Heathrow Express. I really liked being there before the game to see the players’ arrival and also to check out the Riverside Stand.

  • Fulham vs. Manchester United (2024-25 English Premier League)

    Fulham vs. Manchester United (2024-25 English Premier League)

    In this post I’ll cover my experience attending a Fulham vs. Manchester United game at Craven Cottage. It was my first time going to a Premier League game there. I had been to a Fulham home game before, but they were in the Championship (2nd division) at the time. This was a much more intense and entertaining game experience than my previous one.

    Background

    I went to this game during my January 2025 trip to London (I also saw Tottenham play in the Europa League during that trip, which they eventually won by defeating Manchester United in the final!). 

    I had wanted to return to Craven Cottage for a few years so I checked Fulham’s home games and saw that they would play Manchester United while I was in London. I had never seen Manchester United in a competitive match (I saw them play a friendly against the Seattle Sounders many years ago), so that was an additional incentive for me to get tickets.

    Teams involved

    Fulham F.C. was founded in 1879 and is the oldest professional football club in London. They have played their home games at Craven Cottage since 1896. Craven Cottage is a classic and beautiful stadium. It is right next to the River Thames, which adds to its allure. Another interesting feature is the fact that one of the stadium corners has an actual cottage. It is not the cottage that gave the stadium its name, but it is still a very cool sight.

    The cottage at Craven Cottage
    The cottage at Craven Cottage

    Manchester United is one of the most famous football clubs in the world. It has a rich history with many titles, including thirteen FA Cups and three Champions League titles. Their home stadium is Old Trafford, also known as the “the theatre of dreams”.  Many world-renowned players have played for them, including Ryan Giggs, who played for them from 1990 to 2014! I actually got an autograph from Ryan Giggs when Manchester United played the Seattle Sounders in a friendly (he was an assistant coach at the time). My favorite player, Radamel Falcao, also played for them, though his time there was much shorter (only one season).

    How I got tickets

    Getting tickets for this game involved a similar process to the other games I’ve attended in England. I checked the game schedule and ticket information for Fulham and added a reminder to my calendar to look for tickets at the beginning of the open sale phase. When that day arrived I quickly logged into my Fulham account and got a ticket in the Hammersmith Stand, behind one of the goals. Once I got the purchase confirmation, I had an option to add the ticket to my digital wallet, which I did. That made the process of entering the stadium really easy the day of the game.

    How I got to the game

    This game took place on Sunday, January 26th 2025. A few hours before the game I went to a Formula 1 exhibition in East London (by the Custom House tube station). From there, I took the Victoria line to Paddington station. From Paddington, I took the District Line to Putney Bridge station, which is in Fulham and not too far from Craven Cottage. As soon as I walked out of the station I saw people selling scarves for the game and a group of Fulham fans heading to the game.

    I followed the group and walked along the River Thames and through Bishop’s park. It had rained during the day so there were many puddles on the path but it was a nice walk by the river. It was very exciting to finally see the stadium lights as I approached Craven Cottage.

    Craven Cottage at night
    Craven Cottage at night

    I walked around the stadium to check out the surroundings and take in the pre-game ambiance. I also stopped by the team store and it was full of people. I took advantage of the opportunity to buy Fulham’s home jersey.

    Craven Cottage
    Craven Cottage

    I then made my way into the stadium, which was very quick (I scanned the ticket from my digital wallet) and found my section in the Hammersmith Stand. I was just a few rows behind the goal and used the time before the game to take pictures of the surroundings.

    Walking to Hammersmith stand
    Walking to the Hammersmith Stand
    View from the Hammersmith End
    View from section H5 in the Hammersmith Stand

    The game

    This was a very entertaining football game, with multiple goal scoring opportunities. Fulham had most of the chances in the first half (I don’t think Manchester United had a clear shot on goal), but they were not able to score. In particular, Alex Iwobi had a good first half and a few shots on goal that were handled well by Onana.

    Bruno Fernandes and Alex Iwobi

    During the half time break Edwin van der Sar was honored by Fulham. He played there from 2001 to 2005. 

    Edwin van der Sar at Craven Cottage
    Edwin van der Sar at Craven Cottage

    During the 2nd half, Fulham attacked the goal on my side of the stadium so I had a great view of very good scoring opportunities. It was really fun to jump up with everyone in my section when there were clear scoring opportunities. In the end, it wasn’t Fulham’s night and, though they had many more chances to score, Manchester United won the game with a score of 0-1. The goal came through a long range shot from Lisandro Martinez. The ball hit a Fulham player and took a deflection to keep Leno from making the save. Fulham kept attacking and trying to score after the goal but it never came.

    Overall, it was a great experience. It would have been great to see the home team win but I appreciated the fighting attitude from Fulham and the fact that they kept attacking until the final whistle.

    Leaving the stadium

    I decided to try a different route after the game and walked from Craven Cottage to the Hammersmith tube station. There are also buses you can take from the stadium to that station. Once I got to Hammersmith station, I took the Hammersmith & City line to Euston Square station, which was close to my hotel.

    Leaving Craven Cottage
    Leaving Craven Cottage

    Conclusion

    I highly recommend going to a Fulham game. The stadium is beautiful and the energy during the game is palpable. The process of getting to the stadium was very simple and everything was very well organized. Also, from the stadiums I have visited, I am pretty sure Craven Cottage is the oldest and most classic one I have been to. Definitely go to a game there if you have a chance, or at least do a stadium tour (I plan to do that next time I am in London).