Fulham coast to victory at nine-man Crystal Palace

Goals from Bobby de Cordova-Reid, Tim Ream and Aleksandar Mitrovic inspired Fulham to victory over nine-man Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Tyrick Mitchell was shown a red card for a foul on Kenny Tete just three minutes after his side went behind, and James Tomkins followed him before the hour.

The result strengthens the visitors’ unlikely European push, as they sit in eighth, just two points off the top six.

Heading towards the half-hour mark, Palace, having struggled to impose themselves early on, almost took the lead.

Clever play by Michael Olise freed Jordan Ayew inside the area, but he saw his effort crash off the bar.

Fulham made them pay moments later when De Cordova-Reid headed the visitors into a deserved lead as Mitrovic pounced on slack play from Joachim Andersen before finding his team-mate with a pinpoint cross.

The hosts’ misery was compounded further when Mitchell was dismissed after Tete reached a loose ball first and was caught by the Palace man.

Any chance of a quick Palace resurgence were quashed 12 minutes after the break. Tomkins, on a booking, appeared to elbow Mitrovic off the ball, resulting in a second red card of the game.

Ream then reacted quickly to Mitrovic’s knock-down from a corner to double Fulham’s lead on 71 minutes.

Referee Andy Madley checked the VAR monitor for a potential handball against the Serb, only to stick with his original decision, before Mitrovic made it three 10 minutes from time.

Palace punished after losing cool

The two red cards were undoubtedly the moments on which this game turned. Mitchell’s challenge on Tete came just three minutes after De Cordova-Reid’s opener, and Tomkins’ moment of madness forced them into damage control.

But even with 11 men, they didn’t do nearly enough to win the game or even avoid defeat, marking a disappointing return to Premier League action after the World Cup.

Patrick Vieira named an attacking line-up but that intent was never transformed into a coherent performance as they were roundly beaten.

Festive cheer as Fulham march on

Fears of a third successive relegation to the Championship are disappearing at a rapid rate for Fulham, and they looked well at home at this level again.

It is now 22 points from 16 games under Silva this term, just six fewer than they got in the entirety of their last Premier League campaign two years ago.

The manner in which they dominated the ball and made possession count was hugely impressive, and with Mitrovic grabbing his 10th goal of the season, they have a striker in the sort of form to make them dream of a European place, or even more than that.

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