Fulham boss Marco Silva has claimed that his side deserved something out of last night's game after matching a "strong" Leeds United team and suggested it shows the depth and competition in his squad.

The west London club welcomed Leeds to Craven Cottage last night but were unable to secure their place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after losing via a penalty shoot-out.

Both sides had chances in a tense game that finished 0-0 after 90 minutes, with misses from Josh Onomah, Joe Bryan, and Rodrigo Muniz in the shoot-out proving costly.

Overall it was an impressive display from the Cottagers, however, particularly as Silva made 11 changes for the midweek game while Marcelo Bielsa made just four.

Speaking after the game, the Fulham boss claimed his side matched a "strong" Leeds team and deserved something out of the game.

"Of course, I am not happy with the result," said Silva. "Like all of us, I think we deserved something more from the game.

“The result is what it is. I am proud of our players and what they did. Unfortunately, with the penalties they were more confident than us."

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The Portuguese coach added: "I made 11 changes to our starting XI and I saw our team match our opponent this evening.

"I'm really pleased and it shows the depth of our squad. It shows the competition that I'm always speaking to you about and that I can see every single day.

"If someone doesn't perform or goes to sleep there will be trouble because the others are there, that is what I want because as a team it makes us strong."

Fulham's focus now shifts back to the Championship as they travel to Ashton Gate to take on Bristol City on Saturday.

The Verdict

There's no denying the strength in depth in the Fulham squad and the quality in the XI that Silva was able to name yesterday is proof of just how much talent is at the Craven Cottage club at the moment.

They went toe-to-toe with the Whites yesterday and certainly could've won the game inside 90 minutes – though they may feel they could've tested goalkeeper Illan Meslier more.

In that sense, there's no arguing with Silva's claim that the two sides were well matched yesterday and that should boost the squad's confidence as they look to get back to winning ways in the Championship on Saturday.

They may be out of the Carabao Cup but Fulham remain among the frontrunners for promotion.