Marco Silva declared himself pleased with the depth of his Fulham squad despite their Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Leeds.
Silva had made 11 changes in his starting XI from the one which lost to Reading in the Championship on Saturday, including resting the in-form Aleksandar Mitrovic and Harry Wilson, but his side pushed Marcelo Bielsa’s men all the way during Tuesday night’s match at Craven Cottage.
Nothing could separate the sides in normal time, with neither able to find a breakthrough, before the Premier League visitors eventually edged through to round four 6-5 on penalties.
“Not surprised (to see the strength in depth), pleased to see as a manager when I changed 11 players,” Silva said.
“I see what they did. I am really pleased – it shows the depth of our squad. It shows the competition I am always telling you that we have and I can see every single day.
“If someone will not perform or go to sleep a little bit, they will be in trouble because the other one will be there.
“This is everything that I want. This way we can improve as a team and get stronger in the future.”
Leeds winger Daniel James acknowledged his side had to work on converting chances into goals, having registered only three shots on target from 12 attempts.
“I think maybe we were disappointed because we created a lot of chances to go and win the game in normal time,” James said on LUTV.
“Thankfully the boys stepped up and put the penalties in the back of the net. Credit to the young boys who came on, they did so well and stuck their penalties away.
“We created a lot in the first half, just like the game other day (Friday night’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Newcastle). It’s something we have got to work on – we have to score when we are on top.
“We just need to keep making those chances, but putting them way.”
