Fulham win to seal promotion back to Premier League
Fulham sealed promotion back to the Premier League with a resounding win at Craven Cottage.
Preston could not cope with Whites’ star forward, Aleksandar Mitrovic, who scored his 39th and 40th Championship goals of the campaign either side of an effort by Fabio Carvalho in an emphatic first-half performance.
Marco Silva’s side have earned their place in the top tier with two games to spare.
Fulham – approaching the game in nervous mood, having lost in their previous two outings – were threatened early on by the Lilywhites.
Home keeper Marek Rodak was forced to make instinctive saves from efforts by Ched Evans and Ben Whiteman within the opening ten minutes.
However, the danger served as a wake-up call for the hosts, who duly went in front in minute later. Joe Bryan dispossessed Brad Potts on the left-hand side before his neat through-pass found Mitrovic, who calmly slipped the ball under advancing Preston keeper Daniel Iversen.
With the Whites subsequently taking control, it was no surprise that they doubled their lead in the 33rd minute.
In a flowing move, once again on the left, Neeskens Kebano kept his cool before seeking out Carvalho with a precise assist – and the attacking midfielder nipped in to edge the ball past Iversen from close range.
And with five minutes to go before half-time, Fulham turned on the style with their third of the night, courtesy of Mitrovic.
Driving into the Preston half, Harry Wilson outpaced a couple of defenders before setting up the poised Serbian striker to casually fire home.
In a lively start to the second half, Rodak tipped a Cameron Archer shot against the woodwork in a rare Preston raid, before both Mitrovic and Carvalho were superbly denied by the busy Iversen.
Fulham: Rodak, Bryan, Ream, Adarabioyo, Williams, Reed (Seri 69), Cairney, Kebano, Carvalho (Decordova-Reid 75), Wilson, Mitrovic (Muniz 76)
