Fulham’s maligned summer signing Luciano Vietto shows his worth in second-half comeback

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Until Tuesday night, Luciano Vietto had failed to find the net in the opening months of his Fulham career. Starved of consistent starts and confidence under two separate managers, it appeared his loan spell from Atletico Madrid would fizzle out into failure.

Yet when Claudio Ranieri threw on the Argentine at halftime against Brighton and Hove Albion, Vietto played an integral role in Fulham’s roaring comeback victory and showed his considerable talent.

Andre Schurrle was withdrawn at the interval after suffering a heavy challenge from Dale Stephens, granting Vietto a superb opportunity to prove his worth with the Whites trailing 2-0.

Vietto impressed in a floating role behind Aleksandar Mitrovic, linking up with the target man as well as with Tom Cairney, Jean-Michael Seri, and Ryan Babel in attack.

The loanee’s bursts of acceleration, intelligent forward runs, and high-tempo passes added much-needed urgency to the Fulham frontline.

And at long last, Vietto headed home at a crucial juncture to record his debut Fulham goal, more than five months after his first appearance.

A core member of Fulham’s rejuvenated second-half squad against Brighton, Luciano Vietto surely must have a strong case to start ahead of Andre Schurrle against Crystal Palace.

And with a productive run in the starting lineup, the Atletico Madrid loanee can build on his superb midweek display and finally start to prove his worth to the Fulham faithful.