Fulham were comfortably beaten 1-0  by Premier League Southampton at Craven Cottage on Tuesday night in the second round of the Carabao Cup. 

Michael Obafemi's tap-in just before the hour settled what was at times an unbearably dull affair in South-West London.

Scott Parker made nine changes to the side who were beaten by Nottingham Forest at the weekend, with Aleksandr Mitrovic, Tom Cairney, Anthony Knockaert and Ivan Cavaleiro dropping out of the squad completely.

But what did we learn about the Whites?

Here are THREE things we noticed...

Prioritising the league

It was to be expected, and you cannot blame Parker too much for doing so, but the performance made it obvious where the club's priorities lay this season.

Fulham are in a great position to win an immediate return to the Premier League so getting knocked out of the League Cup, a tournament they have no real chance of winning, makes sense.

Nine changes made and their three best attackers dropping out of the squad completely showed next to no intent of progressing.

Cairney crucial

One thing that was obvious from last night's display was the distinct lack of creativity in the midfield.

Josh Onomah impressed on his debut, showing some neat touches, whilst Johansen showed his usual busy, energy, but ultimately both lacked the ability to unlock a defence and create a chance.

With a lot of focus on the front-three, it may well be the captain that future opposition should look to silence first and foremost.

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Rodak puts the pressure on

 

Possibly the biggest positive to emerge from the match was the performance of Marek Rodak in the Fulham goal.

With Southampton the only side creating openings in the second period, Rodak was frequently called into action, keeping Nathan Redmond, Danny Ings and Oriol Romeu out when each will have expected to score.

Marcus Bettinelli will now surely be looking over his shoulder in coming weeks and will be keen not to make any mistakes.