If Fulham’s Easter weekend could belong to any one man, there would be few dissenting voices amongst the Craven Cottage faithful if it was to be handed to the Whites’ Norwegian one-man engine room, Stefan Johansen.
Two sublime performances began with a piledriver to open the scoring away at Carrow Road, which set Fulham on their way to a hard-fought victory. Johansen’s technique, low over a fizzing ball, which left John Ruddy with absolutely no chance, was matched only by his textbook knee slide celebration in front of the yellow and green hordes in the corner.
The goal, in fact, pushed Johansen into the lead in the Fulham goalscoring charts for the season, ahead of Chris Martin by virtue of assists with both men having eleven strikes to their name across all competitions.
Whilst you’d be forgiven for thinking that Johansen’s goal would be the highlight of his weekend, you’d be hard pressed to leave it there. After Martin’s dismissal, Fulham reverted to a 4-4- 1 shape with Floyd Ayite leading the line and Johansen shifted out to the left wing.
After a little bit of research, it was clear to see that the No14 had rarely, if ever, been utilised in a left midfield berth before; but he slotted into the role with aplomb.
Not only did he manage to cover the recklessness of Scott Malone’s intermittent dashes into the opposition half, but also put in a tireless shift working up and down the line to provide support and largely blunt the threat offered by Jacob Murphy and Alex Pritchard.
Not content with just one exemplary performance, however, Johansen would again take up the mantle against Aston Villa. His inch perfect tackle on Jack Grealish whilst sprinting back towards his own goal was the platform from which the first goal was scored. It’s his perfect round-the- corner reverse pass to Floyd Ayité which opens up the Villa defence for Fulham’s second, and he goes one better for the third goal, driving from the heart of the pitch into the final third and putting the ball on a plate for Neeskens Kebano to finish off.
All three goals then, owe much to the Norwegian midfielder, and his man of the match accolade from the Fulham fans was a richly deserved one. It’s incredible to think that this is a player who was substituted after merely 32 minutes on his Fulham debut, and the amount that the team now relies on Johansen’s driving runs to turn defence into attack is testament to how much the Whites have improved since his introduction into the team.
When we think back to the start of the season, it’s easy to forget that the experienced but extremely static pairing of McDonald and Parker was Slavisa’s first choice midfield duo in the 4-2- 3-1 formation. This reached a head in the visit to Aston Villa, where our inability to transition from defence to attack in any way was made clear.
Johansen was given his chance alongside McDonald in the following game against Huddersfield Town, and the Whites turned into a different team, battering the in-form Terriers 5-0. Jokanovic had found his formula, and Johansen hasn’t looked back.
From there, the No14 has become perhaps the key cog in Fulham’s widely-lauded midfield trio - his tireless running and elegant ball playing ability allows McDonald the freedom to operate as the shield in front of the back four, whilst freeing up Tom Cairney to take up a uninhibited Trequartista role behind the striker. Johansen’s workrate covers for Cairney when he’s playing offensively, whilst also allowing McDonald to think primarily as a defensive buffer - he is the fundamental nexus around which the side functions.
Game by game, Johansen’s importance to the Jokanovic system becomes ever clearer, and it’s crazy to think that he hasn’t always been one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Whilst there are plenty that see Johansen as a Premiership player in waiting, the Fulham faithful can only hope that he makes that leap in a Whites shirt.
Jack is the latest incarnation of GWL's Fulham fan blogger. He's also the Editor of Fulhamish and a regular on the associated weekly podcast. When not talking about Fulham, Jack provides live match commentary and social media for the UEFA Champions League and Europa League websites. You can find him on Twitter right here: @JackJCollins or his website: www.jackjcollins.co.uk.
