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One Fulham star has come in for special praise after his performance against Erling Haaland and Manchester City in a narrow defeat over the weekend. The Cottagers lost 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium and pushed the champions all the way as they looked to sustain their fine start to the season.

Marco Silva’s men will be delighted with how they have started the campaign, still only three points off the top four. The City clash was a case of what could have been, and one of the key players was Calvin Bassey, who played in a central role as part of a back five, playing a big part in keeping Erling Haaland quiet

And his performance brought special praise from former Netherland and Aston Villa star Ron Vlaar. “I think Bassey is very important and I thought he was very good ,” he said on ViaPlay. “You see him do things on the ball that we are not used to in the Netherlands. If you think back to his time at Ajax, he was very insecure. When he had the ball, you could feel in the entire stadium.

“Then, he lost the ball very often. you didn’t see that. Not at all. It is special that he plays in the Premier League with full confidence. That is nice to see. Ajax didn’t buy him for nothing. It just didn’t work out at all, except for a few moments. We did not see Haaland at all. Bassey and Joachim Andersen made him completely harmless. That is a very big compliment.”

Haaland is the Premier League’s top scorer so far this season with 10 goals, but he was not able to add to that total against Fulham. Clubs will now break for the internationals and Bassey will head off to link up with Nigeria. He has previously said of his national team: “For me it’s big, it’s a blessing you know. These are things you used to dream of when you were a kid. Big international tournaments, playing in the Premier League and living in it is just a blessing, and I just thank God, really,”