Match Report Fulham (2) 4-0 (0) Millwall Championship Match Day 04 1920 at Craven Cottage Wednesday 21st August 2019    KO: 19:45 Referee: Darren Bond (Lancashire)

Fulham Winger Ivan Cavaleiro

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This was the night Fulham bared their teeth back in the Championship.

Their front three had always felt the envy of the division but in running amok so ruthlessly to dismantle a normally robust Millwall team they reminded fellow contenders of their pedigree.

There may be no living with Aleksandar Mitrovic, Anthony Knockaert and Ivan Cavaleiro at this level.

The trio all scored in a lopsided contest with Fulham completing 934 passes and enjoyed 89% possession in the first half.

To have clawed that back closer to 85% by the end – “Is that all?” said Millwall’s Neil Harris, jokingly – felt like a minor triumph for the crestfallen visitors but the passes figure still represented a record since Opta began collating such data in the second tier in 2013.

Fulham Striker Anthony Knockaert

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Scott Parker was thrilled by his team’s domination, orchestrated masterfully by Thomas Cairney, but will have taken most heart from the bite that set them apart. The signings of Cavaleiro and Knockaert will prove masterstrokes.

“We knew what we were getting from the players we’ve signed,” he said.

“It doesn’t guarantee you success but you limit the risk.

That’s credit to the owner and to Tony Khan who identified the mistakes we made last year in terms of recruitment. We ticked boxes this year.”

Perhaps Millwall could have been more tenacious – they are usually a team capable of weathering storms and still prospering – but this was an uncharacteristically timid display.

They watched Fulham ping their passes, dropping ever deeper until a visiting full-back was inevitably isolated and bypassed by a slippery winger.

Fulham Striker Aleksandar Mitrovic

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Former Fulham striker Matt Smith’s arrival briefly offered some respite but this was an insipid performance that courted disaster.

Fulham’s front three will trouble better opposition than Millwall.

Cavaleiro forced them ahead with a goal as eye-catching as his winner at Huddersfield last week.

The Portuguese was permitted too much space by Mahlon Romeo before darting back across the box past Connor Mahoney’s tentative challenge.

Once he had squeezed out sufficient space, he whipped a shot emphatically beyond Bartosz Bialkowski.

The Wolves loanee would add a second, collecting another beautifully weighted Cairney pass to round the goalkeeper.

Match Stats	Fulham	Millwall
Goals	(2) 4	0 (0)
Scorers	Cavaleiro 15
	Knockaert 32
	Mitrovic pen 56
	Cavaleiro 63
,
Goal attempts	11	7
On target	7	1
Shooting Accuracy	64%	14%
Possession	84%	16%
Passes	991	173
Passes Success	94%	66%
Crosses	19	11
Crosses Success	11%	18%
Corners	8	1
Tackles	9	14
Tackles Success	67%	64%
Saves	1	3
Fouls	11	11
Offsides	3	4
Yellows	2	1
Reds	0	0
source: SkySports

In between, and not to be outdone, Knockaert had emerged through the clutter in the six-yard box to nod in Cavaleiro’s centre.

There were 26 passes in the buildup to the Frenchman’s goal, the move involving all 11 players, with Millwall left dizzy by the paceFulham moved the ball.

The only surprise was that Mitrovic had to wait so long before scoring.

He was tripped by Bialkowski after a heavy touch at Harry Arter’s dragged shot, with the penalty battered in with glee.

“Their fans must be thinking: ‘What are we doing in this division? We should be in the Premier League,’” Harris said. On this evidence Fulham’s stay will be brief.

Fulham: Bettinelli, S Sessegnon, Mawson, Ream, Bryan, Cairney (De Cordova-Reid 69), Arter (McDonald 75), Johansen, Knockaert, Mitrovic, Cavaleiro (Kamara 79)

Unused substitutes: Rodak, Le Marchand, Christie, Reed

Goals:
Cavaleiro 15 (right footed shot from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Tom Cairney.)
Knockaert 32 (header from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ivan Cavaleiro.)
Mitrovic pen 56 (converts penalty with a right footed shot to the top left corner. Penalty conceded by Keeper Bartosz Bialkowski (Millwall) after a foul in the penalty area.)
Cavaleiro 63 (right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Tom Cairney with a through ball.)

Booked: Mitrovic (25,arg), Knockaert (28,d)

Millwall: Bialkowski, Romeo, Pearce, Cooper, M Wallace, Mahoney, Leonard, Williams (Matt Smith 45), Skalak (Ferguson 39), Thompson (Molumby 75), Bradshaw

Unused substitutes: Steele, Hutchinson, O'Brien, Bodvarsson

Booked: Cooper (25,arg),

Referee: Darren Bond (Lancashire)

Attendance: 17,066