After a three-game unbeaten streak, Crystal Palace returned to a bleak reality. Oliver Glasner's team was outclassed by a dynamic Fulham side, with Emile Smith Rowe and Harry Wilson scoring the goals that left Palace with ten men as Daichi Kamada was sent off. Fulham were sharper in all aspects, deserving the lead provided by Smith Rowe at the end of the first half. However, the struggle for a second goal persisted, and nerves would have been on edge in the closing stages, even after Kamada's red card in the 76th minute for a sliding tackle on Kenny Tete. But Wilson once again made an impact as a substitute, having scored twice in injury time to beat Brentford earlier in the week. This time, his role was to secure the win for Marco Silva, and he did so with jubilation just 39 seconds after his 82nd-minute arrival.
Palace started the match without key players like Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton, but with a hint of optimism from the past fortnight. Their first league win of the season came thanks to Tottenham's generosity, and a Carabao Cup quarter-final was booked with victory at Villa Park. Only a late disallowed winner at Molineux had prevented a perfect run. Injuries and suspensions led to an improvised midfield, with Marc Guéhi partnering 21-year-old Justin Devenny, the Under-21s captain, making his Palace first-team debut. The question for Silva was whether Wilson would be rewarded with a start after his previous cameo performance.
The opening minutes were low on quality and composure for both sides, but Fulham gradually began to threaten. Alex Iwobi moved to the center to play alongside Reiss Nelson, whose shot was strongly met by Dean Henderson. Nelson's runs from the left posed danger, but his finishing touch was lacking; he shot wide after cutting in from the wing minutes later. While the visitors dominated possession and were far neater in the middle, the hosts were careless with the ball when they had it. One example came midway through the first half when Nathaniel Clyne's clearance ricocheted off Iwobi into the path of Smith Rowe, with a sliding and rather dangerous challenge from Maxence Lacroix required to stop the attacker.
Palace's best chance came through Jean-Philippe Mateta, the Frenchman up front routinely raising his arms to get Selhurst Park bouncing. He headed over the bar after leaping high to meet a free-kick and nearly opened the scoring near the end of the first half. Ismaïla Sarr burst forward on the right, his deflected cross looped high into the air, and Mateta snuck in-between Bernd Leno and Joachim Andersen to deliver a glancing header. Leno got a touch, the ball trickled towards the net, but Andersen, back at his old place of work, cleared off the line. Instead, it was Fulham who gained advantage before the break, capitalising on Palace's doziness. Lacroix's pass out from the back went straight to Smith Rowe, who played a one-two with Raúl Jiménez before shifting on to his left foot inside the area to finish. Henderson had enjoyed a fine half and got a hand to it, moving low to his left, but the net still bulged.
Smith Rowe was celebrating again seven minutes into the second half when Fulham showed off their pace on the counter. Jiménez led the move from the left to right, Iwobi delivered a teasing first-time cross and Smith Rowe was at the end of it. Then came VAR and those pesky offside lines. Selhurst Park burst into a song of hope. But the direction of the game refused to change as Fulham launched repeated attacks. Henderson excelled in denying Andreas Pereira twice. Nelson, while impressive in his buildup play, remained allergic to scoring, shooting wide again when finding space in the area. Wilson was the man to provide a sense of ease, running into the area to get on the end of a wonderful through-ball from Iwobi before slotting in. He even had a second in stoppage time, but it was rightly disallowed for a handball in the leadup. Still, it was quite a week for Wilson.
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