Fulham moved up to eighth place in the Premier League after a convincing 3-0 away win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Bobby Decordova-Reid put the Cottagers 1-0 ahead after heading home a great cross from Aleksandar Mitrović in the 31st minute.
Tyrick Mitchell received the first of Palaces’ two red cards on the day after, a late challenge on Kenny Tete. James Tomkins picked up his second yellow card early in the second half after an off-the-ball clash with Mitrovic to leave the Eagles with 9 outfield players.
Tim Ream scored his first Fulham goal in the 71st minute and Mitrovic sealed the win by grabbing a well-deserved goal in the 80th minute as Fulham went away with all three points.
Story of the Match
Patrick Vieira made one change to his Palace side as James Tomkins came in for the suspended Marc Guehi for his first Premier League start in a year. Jordan Ayew made his 150th PL appearance for club in a 4-3-3 formation.
Fulham boss Marco Silva made three changes to his side as Kenny Tete returned from suspension whilst Harrison Reed and Willian replaced Tom Cairney and Harry Wilson in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Fulham dominated the opening 20 minutes of the first half with their trademark high-tempo playstyle. Andreas Pereira forced a good save from Vicente Guaita following a sweetly struck free kick from 30 yards out in the seventh minute.
Palace responded by altering their gameplan to hit Fulham on the counter as Wilfried Zaha took up a central role with Eberechi Eze on the left, Andre Ayew on the right & Michael Olise as a 10.
Both Ayew and Olise would frequently switch positions to disrupt Fulham’s dominance in the middle of the park as a result of Ayew’s high work rate.
Palace caught Fulham on the break after good work from Michael Olise created a chance for Ayew, who smashed his effort off the crossbar in the 25th minute.
The Eagles were made to pay for the missed chance as Bobby Decordova-Reid put the Cottagers ahead in the 31st minute after heading home a fantastic cross from Mitrovic.
To make matters worse, Palace were reduced to 10 men after Tyrick Mitchell was shown a straight red card following a late challenge on Tete in the 34th minute. Jeffrey Schlupp slotted into left back as cover for Palace, who switched to a 4-3-2 formation.
Olise wasted a golden chance to bring his side level shortly before the break but fizzed his effort harmlessly wide of Bernd Leno’s goal as Fulham went into the break 1-0 up.
Both sides remained unchanged for the start of the second half. Despite their lead and man advantage, Fulham would have to be cautious in their approach as they had dropped eight points from winning positions so far this season and would be looking for a second goal to put the game to bed as soon as possible.
Fulham keep on pushing
Palhinha had the first chance of the second half in the 52nd minute after being afforded space to drive into the Palace half, but the Portuguese fired his shot over the bar.
Any hope of a comeback for Palace was lost as James Tomkins picked up his second yellow card after an off-the-ball clash with Mitrovic to leave Palace with nine men.
Patrick Vieira responded by bringing on Chris Richards for Eze in an effort to maintain some sort of defensive presence in a 4-3-1 formation with more than 30 minutes of the second half remaining.
Andreas Pereira hit the woodwork in the 60th minute following great footwork from the Brazilian inside the Palace box as Fulham pushed to extend their advantage.
Mitrovic forced a great save from Guaita in the 63rd minute with a powerful header after outjumping Nathaniel Clyne at the back post. Clyne would be substituted 4 minutes later as Joel Ward was introduced to try deal with the threat posed by Mitrovic.
Tim Reem scored his first goal for Fulham after hammering home a volley following a headed assist from Mitrovic, who latched on to the end of an Andreas Pereira corner.
Tom Cairney was introduced for Palhinha in the 74th minute as Fulham pushed for a third goal. Mitrovic could have had his third assist of the game after playing Pereira through on goal, but his effort was saved comfortably by Guaita.
Mitrovic was rewarded with his first ever goal against Crystal Palace for a simple tap in at the far post after latching on to the end of an attempt on goal from Willian in the 80th minute to put Fulham 3-0 up.
Harry Wilson and Dan James were introduced shortly afterwards for Reid and Willian as the crowd at Selhurst Park began heading for the exit gates.
After a handful of substitutions from both sides, Fulham held out to win the game 3-0.
Player of the match: Aleksandar Mitrović
The Serbian picked up where he left off before the World Cup as he ran the show for the Cottagers by contributing 2 assists and grabbing himself a well-deserved goal.
In addition to his physical and clinical threat, his link-up play was very impressive to produce two assists for his teammates. Mitrovic will no doubt be looking forward to his sides next game at home to Southampton on New Year’s Eve to add to his growing tally of goals and assists.