Daniel Munoz and a Joachim Andersen own goal see Crystal Palace past Fulham
Victory for Oliver Glasner’s men made it four league wins in their last six matches and they remain 13th as a result.
Former Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen scored an own goal as the Eagles secured a 2-0 Premier League victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
The Denmark international, who completed a reported £30million pound switch from south to west London in the summer, gave his former side a first-half lead before Daniel Munoz fired home Palace’s second after 66 minutes.
Victory for Oliver Glasner’s men made it four league wins in their last six matches and they remain 13th as a result.
A cagey opening 20 minutes in west London saw neither side exit first gear, but a cynical yellow-card tackle by Sander Berge against Ismaila Sarr on the break acted as the torch paper for the derby to heat up.
After massive appeals from Fulham’s players for a foul in the middle were waved away, Eberechi Eze took advantage of the play.
The attacking-midfielder surged into space and tested Bernd Leno before the German goalkeeper was called on again moments later to palm away his 33rd-minute whipped free-kick.
Palace’s early pressure paid dividends as their continuous barrage forced Fulham into conceding an own goal.
A whipped corner by Will Hughes saw Maxence Lacroix’s leap cloud the vision of his marker and – after the defender missed his header – Andersen did not have time to react as the ball cannoned off him in the six-yard box and past Leno for 1-0.
After the break, the visitors continued where they left off and they were unfortunate to not double their lead after they had a goal chalked off.
A deft backheel pass by Eze allowed Jean-Philippe Mateta to smash the ball home, but the French forward was released too late as Palace were denied another.
But the Eagles finally got their reward. They had dominated against a passive Fulham side and the victory was all but theirs when they converted a dangerous counter attack.
Palace threw men forward, with full-back Munoz showing great composure as he dummied a left-footed shot, cut out onto his right and rifled his effort into the top-left corner to double their score.
The performance was missing what Marco Silva’s Fulham have been known for this season, with a lack of creativity and any impetus forcing the manager to turn to the bench in the form of 36-year-old Willian.
The Brazilian winger, who rejoined the Cottagers for a second spell earlier this month, struggled to make an impact in a match where the Cottagers failed to have a shot on target.
