Manager has faith in marksman Mitrovic

SLAVISA Jokanovic is certain Aleksandar Mitrovic can fire the goals to keep Fulham in the Premier League.

Mitrovic scored twice and was inches away from a deserved hattrick as the Cottagers beat Burnley 4-2 to secure their first points of the season.

The Serbian striker netted 12 goals on loan at Fulham last term to help them to promotion, and having made the move from Newcastle permanent he set about the task of keeping them in the top flight in style.

Fulham boss Jokanovic said:

Double: Aleksandar Mitrovic

“His attitude is fantastic, he is always available, we believe he is a quality player.

“Some people think he is only a Championship player but he showed he can be fighting at the highest level.”

Jeff Hendrick had cancelled out a stunning 25-yard drive from Ivory Coast midfielder Jean Michael Seri when Mitrovic struck with two headers in two minutes.

James Tarkowski pulled one back for Burnley but Andre Schurrle’s late strike, after Mitrovic’s shot came back off a post, wrapped up the victory.

It was Burnley’s eighth competitive fixture of the season and manager Sean Dyche admits their Europa League exertions are taking their toll.

However, Dyche insists he would not have it any other way.

“We need to see beyond the constant noise of the Europa League, and too many games and all that sort of stuff,” he said.

“But it’s the reality, that’s the challenge — can we keep going in two competitions?” ROY Hodgson claimed Etienne Capoue was fortunate to avoid being sent off for his foul on Wilfried Zaha during Watford’s 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace.

The midfielder cynically raked Zaha’s Achilles in only the fourth minute when he had little hope of winning possession and while Anthony Taylor awarded him a yellow card, Palace’s manager felt it should have been a red.

Capoue remained on the pitch to create Roberto Pereyra’s opening goal.

Hodgson also believes the normally-influential Zaha’s perfor-

Angry: Roy Hodgson

mance suffered as a consequence until he scored their 78th-minute goal, shortly after Jose Holebas had doubled the hosts’ lead, and he said of the incident: “We were unlucky he was not sent off.

“(Taylor) could have sanctioned him even harder.

“At the time I thought it was a bad challenge. I had no idea quite the degree of severity. It definitely affected Wilf. We didn’t see anything like the best of him until late in the game. One can understand that type of challenge affecting him.

Capoue refused to discuss the challenge, which Watford’s head coach Javi Gracia claimed he had not seen.

Their third victory from three is at risk of being overlooked, but the Spaniard said: “I didn’t see the action. It was a rainy day with many contacts.

“To get three wins in a row is something special. Something amazing. We are enjoying the moment knowing it’s only the beginning, but we have done three important steps. But only three. We need to keep going.”