Andreas Pereira and Fulham appear to be a perfect fit

Saturday, October 29 was an emotional evening for Andreas Pereira.

After helping Fulham make it four games without defeat in a goalless draw with Everton, he stayed up late to watch his former team, Flamengo, in the final of the Copa Libertadores — the biggest club competition in South America and the continent’s equivalent to the Champions League.

They were taking on fellow Brazilians Athletico Paranaense, seeking to make up for their defeat in the final a year previously. It was a mission that would resonate for Pereira, and likely formed part of the reason why he had wished to stay at the club.

Pereira had featured in that 2021 final, when Flamengo took on another side from Brazil, Palmeiras. He had been with the club for around three months, joining from Manchester United on a year-long loan, and was in the starting XI for both legs of their semi-final win over Barcelona SC, of Ecuador. He started the final, too, and was playing well, orchestrating the play from a deep midfield position.

Indeed, observers said he was one of the best performers in the final, but the pivotal moment came in extra time, with the score locked at 1-1. He slipped in possession and allowed Deyverson to break and score the winning goal.

With Flamengo having won the tournament just twice in their history, such a moment was defining. Pereira told the fan group Rubro Negra: “I’ll stay here until we win the next one.”

That would be taken out of his hands though, as Flamengo were unable to make his loan move permanent.

But it left him invested in the fate of the club in this year’s competition. He had been on course to make amends; he played in all six group matches and then, in his final game for the club away at Deportes Tolima in Colombia in the round of 16, he scored the only goal in a first-leg victory.

Uncertainty about his future and the expiration of his loan meant he would miss the second leg and find himself watching from afar as Flamengo reached the final this year, which they won by defeating Athletico Paranaense 1-0.

But in the dressing room at the Estadio Monumental, he was not forgotten. David Luiz immediately video-called Pereira to share in the celebrations. He later posted a still image of the call on Instagram, with Pereira in tears and Luiz adding the caption: “You are a champion, brother, we love you.”

His reaction alone speaks to the impact of his time in Brazil. For Pereira, these experiences were going to have a bearing on his career development, a mark to tarnish his future or a point from which he could bounce back.

But it seems that, judging from the way he has embraced the challenge at Fulham and excelled on the field, that experience has made him a stronger player.

“It was incredible. Those experiences make you feel ready for anything that may come my way,” Pereira told SoccerBible of his time in Brazil. “I feel like I’m equipped to handle anything football throws at me now.”

At Fulham, the challenge of Premier League survival is on a different level to avenging a continental cup final defeat, but Pereira has refocused quickly — and contributed enormously. Fulham was not a move that came out of the blue; they were on his radar as his future became uncertain, with Marco Silva stating that he had contacted the 26-year-old last season.

“It was the perfect fit really,” Pereira added to SoccerBible. “When Marco Silva called me and he said, ‘I want you to come here because your playing style is what I like, and it’s the way I think about football’, it was the perfect platform. A big club like Fulham, playing in the Premier League, I can show what kind of player I am.”

Pereira’s main task at Fulham was to fill a large hole in the team left by Fabio Carvalho. The 20-year-old, who moved to Liverpool in the summer, was a vital part of the success in the Championship, providing goals and assists in an advanced attacking midfield role (10 goals, eight assists from 36 appearances), and dovetailing neatly with Aleksandar Mitrovic, the Serbia striker who scored 43 league goals.

Silva was set on maintaining his 4-3-3 tactical set-up, including the Carvalho role which sees one of his three midfielders more advanced than the other, to the point where a No 8 is essentially moonlighting as a No 10.

In Pereira, he has recruited a player who had featured in a variety of positions at United, and at Flamengo, where he would often play deeper. But it was quickly apparent in pre-season that Pereira would assume the Carvalho role, occupying similar spaces by sitting to the left of Fulham’s three midfielders in possession and then as the second forward out of possession in a 4-4-2.

Pereira has taken on the responsibilities Carvalho had in the team and offered more besides — particularly from set plays. His work ethic off the ball has mirrored Carvalho and he has contributed greatly in the final third. Initially, he was not picking up the goals and assists to show for his early season form, registering one assist from his first eight Premier League games, but now, after scoring against Manchester City, he has five goal involvements from six matches.

There have been notable stylistic differences between Pereira and Carvalho. Whereas Carvalho was a goalscoring No 10, Pereira prefers to find space and use his creativity, playing the final pass more often than he receives it.

Indeed, while still an early sample and considering the difference in calibre of opposition, Carvalho averaged 5.8 touches in the opposition penalty area in the Championship, as well as 2.5 shots per game and 2 passes into the penalty area. Pereira has only averaged 1.6 touches in the opposition box and is instead averaging 7.2 passes into the area and 1.5 shots per game.

What has been most rewarding for Fulham, though, has been the relationship Pereira has struck up with Mitrovic. There were signs of this in pre-season when Pereira picked up two assists from two corners for the striker, but this has stepped up a level. Pereira has created 14 chances for Mitrovic, more than any player for a team-mate in the top flight this term.

Carvalho was not the main source of chances for Mitrovic last season; he averaged 0.42 per game for the striker compared to Pereira’s 1 per match, but it was Harry Wilson who assumed that mantle, with an impressive 35 chances created.

With Wilson out injured through a knee injury for much of the start of this season, Fulham had a new void to fill and it is one that Pereira has assumed confidently. Part of that has been down to his set-play deliveries. Pereira’s deliveries have been a major threat and the result has seen Fulham maintain their prowess, scoring seven times from corners this season — a tally only bettered by Tottenham.

His set plays have helped him to hit chance-creation numbers at the upper end of the table, with only Kevin De Bruyne (45) creating more chances overall, including set plays, (34).

“He has been outstanding,” Silva said after he picked up two assists away to Leeds United last month. “I know a lot of people had doubts when I signed him but I knew his qualities and character.

“Even last season we had a conversation about his future but it wasn’t the right moment for him to join. He’s a key player on and off the ball and with set pieces.”

This weekend Pereira faces United for the first time since his summer transfer. He spent more than a decade at the club and experienced highs and lows, playing and filling a variety of roles without ever making his mark consistently.

At Fulham, he seems to have found a set position and form. He may have wanted to avenge the past at Flamengo, but he is now playing a key part in influencing the future at Craven Cottage.

(Top photo: Federico Maranesi/Getty Images)