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Match Report Millwall (0) 1-2 (2)Fulham away at Sky Bet Championship Match Day 03 2021 at The Den Tuesday 17th August 2021    KO: 19:45 Referee: Geoff Eltringham (County Durham) Live on Sky

Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic

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For all the tens of millions invested in assembling a squad of talent from around the continent, the new prince of Fulham is a kid plucked from the dizzying heights of Balham FC.

Remember the name: Fabio Carvalho, the 18-year-old midfielder who notched a goal and assist to go with a dazzling display as Marco Silva's Fulham schooled Millwall at The Den.

Born in Lisbon, Carvalho moved to England aged 11 and, after a few years in Fulham's youth setup, it is now him lighting up this league for the Cottagers, more so than the £20m-plus buys Aleksandar Mitrovic, Jean-Michael Seri or Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.

The match began as a large section of Millwall supporters embarrassingly insisted on booing the knee taken by Fulham players, but their jeers were drowned out within minutes as the away end toasted an early goal.

Fulham midfielder Fabio Carvalho

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Indeed, it took just three minutes for Fulham to break through, as Carvalho danced through a string of static defenders before teeing up Mitrovic for an easy finish from close range.

It was a second strike of the season for the Serbian, who flattered to deceive in the Premier League last term, notching just three goals after 27 in the Cottagers' last promotion campaign.

So perhaps Mitrovic falls into the bracket of forwards not quite at Premier League level. But all that matters for Silva and Co is that he is certainly a stellar striker at this level.

Match Stats	Millwall	Fulham
Goals	(0) 1	2 (2)
Scorers	Afobe 87	Mitrovic 3
		Carvalho 8
Goal attempts	7	16
On target	2	6
Shooting Accuracy	0%	0%
Possession	36%	64%
Passes Success	71%	85%
Corners	2	5
Tackles Success	63%	79%
Saves	3	1
Fouls	11	11
Offsides	0	0
Yellows	4	2
Reds	0	0
source: SkySports

He has a knack of being in the right place at the right time and this Fulham side seem to create chances at will. A perfect recipe for success.

Just five minutes went by before they doubled their lead and, in truth, put this game to bed. Neeskens Kebano strode through and slid in Carvalho who drilled a shot past Bartosz Bialkowski at his near post.

'Carvalho is showing great maturity for his age,' said boss Silva. 'He came early to England and he is growing up quicker than others. You can see his has talent.'

Some teenagers who break through show talent in glimpses but 18-year-old Carvalho had a real grip on this game. His goal was taken with class after a smart run off the ball to evade two defenders and create space.

He continued to terrorise the Millwall defence and should have had at least one more goal, but for the steely goalkeeper Bialkowski.

'On Saturday we scored five (at Huddersfield), today we scored two away from home and created so many chances - I am so pleased,' added Silva.

Gary Rowett's Millwall are often correctly cited as overachievers at this level but this felt like a match of men against boys, until Benik Afobe pulled one back late on.

'We were beaten by a far better side - they gave us a bit of a lesson,' said Rowett. He is spot on. It's very early days but it seems Silva is putting a golden touch on this Fulham side.

They are top of the pile and it seems hard to see anyone else there come May.

Millwall: Bialkowski; Ballard, Wallace, Cooper; Romeo (Smith 46), Leonard (McNamara 81), Kieftenbeld (Evans 81), Malone; Saville; Wallace, Afobe

Unused substitutes: Long, Bradshaw, Pearce, Mitchell

Goals:
Afobe 87 (header from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Matt Smith with a headed pass.)

Booked: Romeo (19,f), Malone (54,f), Evans (88,f), Cooper (89,f)

Fulham: Gazzaniga; Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson; Onomah (Anguissa 46), Seri; Kebano, Carvalho, Cavaleiro (Bryan 86); Mitrovic

Unused substitutes: odak, Odoi, Mawson, Francois, Stansfield

Goals:
Mitrovic 3 (left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Fabio Carvalho.)
Carvalho 8 (right footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Neeskens Kebano with a through ball.)

Booked: Mitrovic (90+3,f), Gazzaniga (90+5,tw)

Referee: Geoff Eltringham (County Durham)

Attendance: n/a