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Fulham survived a late fightback from Millwall to continue their impressive start to the season with a 2-1 win at The Den.
For 85 minutes, Millwall barely laid a finger on Marco Silva’s side, who had the three points all but wrapped up within 10 minutes of their trip to SE16.
The Cottagers took just three minutes to open the scoring as Fabio Carvalho’s cut back was cleverly turned in by Aleksandar Mitrovic at the near post.
Five minutes later Carvalho doubled his side’s lead, the 18-year-old latching onto Neeskens Kebano’s through ball and scoring with an excellent first time finish.
Despite a string of Fulham chances somehow the scoreline remained at 2-0 with Ivan Cavaleiro missing the best of the bunch on the half hour mark after he was set through one-on-one by Carvalho.
Fulham almost started the second-half as they had the first, Mitrovic and Carvalho denied by a Bartosz Bialkowski double save in the opening minutes.
But just as the game looked won, there was late excitement as Benik Afobe gave Millwall some hope of a comeback, but it proved to be too little, too late.
Key Points
Check out all the key talking points and reaction from London Football Scene below…
Key Moment
Fulham’s second goal effectively ended the game as a contest on eight minutes. After that, there was no question the Cottagers would run out comfortable winners.
Moan of the Match
Plenty to moan about for Millwall fans, whose side could barely string together two passes throughout the encounter.
Talking Point
With no wins in their first three games and a dreadful first-half display, will Millwall fans begin to get restless with Gary Rowett’s side?
Man of the Match
Fabio Carvalho – from Benfica to Balham to running the show in Bermondsey, this boy is some prospect and looks set to light up the Championship this season.
Tweet of the Match
Referee Watch
Geoff Eltringham (Durham) – the game lacked the derby edge, mainly due to the disparity between the two sides. A relatively easy day at the office for the official.
Atmosphere
Things turned quite sour for Millwall very early on and they were booed off at half-time. Meanwhile, the ‘oles’ from the away end after only 12 minutes might be the earliest in football history.
Verdict
A clear gulf in quality on display – one side looks very much on track to push for an instant return to the Premier League, while the other is still trying to find any sort of form.
