Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira described his side’s defeat by Fulham at Selhurst Park as “one of his worst days” in charge of the club.
Bobby DeCordova-Reid, Tim Ream and Aleksandar Mitrovic scored as Palace overwhelmed their London rivals as they finished the game with nine men.
Tyreek Mitchell was shown a red card for a foul on Kenny Tate when he was chased down by James Tomkins just three minutes after his side had gone behind.
“It was one of the worst days since I’ve been at the club, not just because we lost the game,” Vieira told JEE News.
“Fulham prepared their game really well and we weren’t brave enough to play forward. I believe we had the best chance before they scored their goal, but we took something from the game. Not enough for
“We have to give them credit, analyze ourselves and try to bounce back as soon as possible.”
Dominant throughout, Marco Silva’s side were aided by Palace’s disorganization, which halted their hopes of a fourth consecutive home win.
The result strengthens the visitors’ unlikely European push, as they sit eighth, just two points off the top six.
Heading towards the half-hour mark, Palace almost took the lead, struggling to impose themselves early on.
Clever play from Michael Oleis set Jordan Eve free inside the area, but his effort crashed over the bar.
Fulham made them pay moments later when Decordova-Reid fired the visitors into a deserved lead as Mitrovic pounced on slow play from Joachim Anderson before finding his team-mate with a pinpoint cross. .
The hosts’ woes were compounded when Mitchell was dismissed when Tette got first to a loose ball and was caught by the Palace man.
12 minutes after the break, any chance of an early revival for Palace was squandered. Tomkins, on booking, appeared to elbow Mitrovic on the ball, resulting in his second red card of the game.
Ram then reacted quickly to Mitrovic’s knock-in from a corner to double Fulham’s lead on 71 minutes.
Referee Andy Medley checked the VAR monitor for a possible handball against the Serb, only to stand by his original decision, before Mitrovic made it three 10 minutes from time.
Mahal was punished after losing his cool.
The two red cards were undoubtedly the moments that turned the game around. Mitchell’s challenge on Tete came just three minutes after Decordova-Reid’s opener, and Tomkins’ moment of madness forced them into damage control.
But even with 11 men, they didn’t do enough to win games or avoid defeat, making for a disappointing return to Premier League action after the World Cup.
Vieira named an attacking line-up but that intention never translated into a cohesive performance as he was fired upon.
Festive cheer as Fulham marches on
Fulham’s last two Premier League campaigns have ended in the Championship, but fears of a third drop are quickly fading, as they look right at home at this level.
That’s now 22 points from 16 games under Silva this term, just six less than he achieved in his last Premier League campaign two years ago.
The manner in which they dominated the ball and lost possession was impressive, and with Mitrovic scoring his 10th goal of the season, they have the kind of striker they need to fulfill their dream of a European place. or even more.
Mitrovic insists his side did not rely on red cards to secure a comprehensive three points.
“We played against a good team, of course they had two red cards,” he said. “Even before the first, we dominated and scored the goal. The second red card made it easy but we played really well all over the pitch.
“We tried to put more pressure on them. We had to handle their intensity, then the second goal made it easier. I’ll have one goal and two assists all day, but the most important thing was the three points. “
