Match ends, Fulham 3, Derby County 0.
FulhamFulham3DerbyDerby County0
Aleksandar Mitrovic's 13th league goal of the season helped send Fulham third in the Championship as they condemned outclassed Derby to a fourth straight away defeat.
Mitrovic, the division's leading scorer, headed home Ivan Cavaleiro's corner just before half-time to add to Bobby Decordova-Reid's early opener and reward Fulham's first-half dominance.
Decordova-Reid got in front of the Derby defence to poke home Aboubakar Kamara's inviting cross after just seven minutes to put the Cottagers on the way to a third successive win.
Serbia striker Mitrovic should have added to his tally in the second half but headed a good chance over before turning provider late on, setting up Tom Cairney to slot home Fulham's third.
Rams keeper Kelle Roos was hesitant to come off his line for both of Fulham's close-range goals but made fine stops from Kamara, Cavaleiro and Mitrovic to prevent Derby's margin of defeat being greater.
While Mitrovic, back from a one-game ban, again found the net, Kamara - keeping his place after scoring twice as a stand-in against QPR - equally caught the eye for the dominant hosts.
The French striker, continuing his return from exile after being arrested following a training-ground clash in January, was at the heart of Fulham's best moves before limping off in the second half.
Derby boss Phillip Cocu, meanwhile, will hope the impending introduction of Wayne Rooney into the coaching set-up can help provide a cure to their travel sickness.
The Rams have won their past five games at Pride Park, including the past four without conceding, but have suffered four straight away defeats, drawing a blank each time, and have not won on the road in the league since the opening day.
They could have remedied that before Decordova-Reid's opener but Tom Lawrence scuffed wide when well placed and the Rams failed to register a single shot on target, with Lawrence and Martyn Waghorn both wayward with late efforts.
Fulham manager Scott Parker told BBC Radio London:
"Today was tough, we played in a short space of time this week and it was always going to be tough physically for us.
"I thought we executed everything we spoke about in the last few days, I don't think they had any shots on target and we really executed in the final third.
"I'm really pleased with the team and really pleased with the lads, it's a good result."
Derby boss Phillip Cocu told BBC Radio Derby:
"It's not good enough, because if we can avoid conceding from set-pieces, we'd have many more points than we have at the moment.
"After six minutes, the set-piece, I have to see it back, but I think it's a mistake. Then they had what they wanted. They were leading so they didn't really need to [attack].
"They tried to get us out and then they play in that strength with Mitrovic, so they can play the short game, get some midfielders out of position, then play direct. They're difficult to stop."
Line-ups
Fulham
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 12Rodák
- 4Odoi
- 5Mawson
- 13Ream
- 23Bryan
- 8Johansen
- 10Cairney
- 47KamaraSubstituted forKnockaertat 54'minutes
- 14De Cordova-ReidSubstituted forOnomahat 60'minutes
- 19CavaleiroBooked at 34minsSubstituted forChristieat 80'minutes
- 9Mitrovic
Substitutes
- 1Bettinelli
- 6McDonald
- 7Kebano
- 22Christie
- 24Knockaert
- 25Onomah
- 33O'Riley
Derby
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 21Roos
- 37Bogle
- 33Davies
- 3ForsythBooked at 45mins
- 25Lowe
- 17EvansSubstituted forDowellat 62'minutesBooked at 90mins
- 5Bielik
- 9Waghorn
- 23HolmesSubstituted forMarriottat 77'minutes
- 10Lawrence
- 19MartinSubstituted forWhittakerat 59'minutes
Substitutes
- 7Paterson
- 8Dowell
- 12Hamer
- 14Marriott
- 41Bird
- 46Malone
- 49Whittaker
- Referee:
- Andy Woolmer
- Attendance:
- 16,856
Match Stats
Home TeamFulhamAway TeamDerby
- Possession
- Home62%
- Away38%
- Shots
- Home16
- Away8
- Shots on Target
- Home7
- Away0
- Corners
- Home6
- Away3
- Fouls
- Home9
- Away11
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Fulham 3, Derby County 0.
Post update
Denis Odoi (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Martyn Waghorn (Derby County).
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Attempt blocked. Jack Marriott (Derby County) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Max Lowe with a cross.
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Attempt blocked. Morgan Whittaker (Derby County) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Booking
Kieran Dowell (Derby County) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Stefan Johansen (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Kieran Dowell (Derby County).
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Tom Cairney (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Tom Lawrence (Derby County).
Goal!
Goal! Fulham 3, Derby County 0. Tom Cairney (Fulham) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Kieran Dowell (Derby County) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Tom Lawrence.
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Corner, Derby County. Conceded by Joe Bryan.
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Attempt missed. Tom Lawrence (Derby County) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Kieran Dowell.
Substitution
Substitution, Fulham. Cyrus Christie replaces Ivan Cavaleiro.
Post update
Stefan Johansen (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Kieran Dowell (Derby County).
Post update
Attempt blocked. Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ivan Cavaleiro.
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Offside, Fulham. Marek Rodák tries a through ball, but Ivan Cavaleiro is caught offside.
