Fulham third after victory over Derby

Fulham 3 Derby 0

Bobby Decordova-Reid scored his first Fulham goal as the Whites moved up to third in the Championship after a dominant performance at Craven Cottage.

The league’s top scorer Aleksandar Mitrović also brought his season’s tally to 13 with a simple header from a corner, helping Fulham to three consecutive wins for the second time this term.

Having conceded early on Friday against QPR, the Whites could have been behind again five minutes in when a mistake from Denis Odoi allowed Duane Holmes to nip in, only for Tom Lawrence to eventually scuff his shot wide.

Decordova-Reid opened his account just a minute later though, as his outstretched leg met a pin-point cross from Aboubakar Kamara – who produced another superb display – to poke past Kelle Roos.

The Jamaican international almost doubled his tally in quick succession after latching on to an underhit backpass from Curtis Davies, but dithered as Roos closed him down.

Roos then parried a well-placed Cavaleiro shot from range after neat work from Mitrović and Kamara, before the Frenchman had a go himself and almost caught the goalkeeper out with his own long-distance effort.

The Whites eventually extended their lead through Mitrović five minutes before half-time, and Tom Cairney almost made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage time with a dipping shot from the edge of the box.

Fulham started the second half as brightly as they ended the first, with Mitrović stinging the palms of Roos once more, though both Kamara and Decordova-Reid were forced off with apparent injuries.

The visitors – whom Fulham defeated at Craven Cottage in the 2017/18 play-off semi-final – offered very little going forwards, and Cairney capped off the victory in the closing stages by slotting through the legs of Roos after Mitrović unselfishly teed him up.