‘SULKY’ SERB HAS CHANGED HIS TOON
On-loan striker: Life at Fulham is smiles better than Magpies
DERBY 1 Huddlestone 68 FULHAM 2 Mitrovic 10, Sessegnon 22
BAD-BOY Aleksandar Mitrovic has a smile on his face as Fulham fly towards the Premier League.
The sulky Serb has a form book as long as the soaring London club’s unbeaten Championship run.
It reads: Booked within 20 seconds of his Newcastle debut for a foul on Southampton’s Matt Targett, now a teammate at Craven Cottage.
Sent off twice at Toon. Retrospective threegame ban for elbowing and being subbed in another match as he simmered towards a third red card.
But Mitrovic insists he is a changed man as Slavisa Jokanovic’s men chase automatic promotion.
He cost Newcastle £13million and is on loan for the rest of the season after Rafa Benitez lost patience. Mitrovic’s goals still helped the Geordies get promoted last term – but it was all a bit of a grind, he says. Now he is seeing the brighter side of life.
The 23-year-old striker said: “It is a different style we play at Fulham, the players enjoy the football more than last season with Newcastle.
“We always played for the results at Newcastle, that was it.
“At Fulham, this team always tries to score more goals than the opponent.
“Newcastle was more tactical. We didn’t play as much attacking football as we play now. It worked because Newcastle were promoted and I hope I am promoted again with Fulham.
“The reason why I came to Fulham was the style, always trying to score.
“I followed them last season, Fulham were the best team to watch in the Championship. I really enjoy it at the moment.”
Mitrovic has scored three in three and might easily have had a hat-trick as Fulham took Derby apart to close within five points of Cardiff in second place.
The forward and Ryan Sessegnon struck early as the promotion jitters that have dogged Derby for the last four years gripped them again.
Tom Huddlestone pulled one back as the Rams improved – but that is as good as it got.
Fulham are unbeaten in 13 league games going into tomorrow’s home match with Sheffield United and have turned over Aston Villa, Wolves and Derby in the last 17 days.
The Rams have no one in the same class as Fulham’s Tom Cairney to make them tick and have not won in five games, picking up just three points.
Keeper Scott Carson admitted: “We looked a bit weak. Nobody got a shoulder in or a tackle in.
“We said at half-time that we needed to show more fight and be more aggressive without doing anything silly and getting sent off.”
And that is a lesson Mitrovic swears he has learned.
DERBY: Carson 6, Wisdom 6 (Anya 77, 5), Keogh 5, Davies 5, Forsyth 5, Huddlestone 6 (Johnson 84), Thorne 5 (Palmer 56, 6) Lawrence 5, Vydra 5, Jerome 6, Weimann 6
FULHAM: Bettinelli 6, Fredericks 6, Odoi 6, Ream 7, Targett 6, Cairney 8, Mcdonald 6, Johansen 6 (Norwood 62, 5), Ayite 6 (Piazon 71, 5) Mitrovic 7, Sessegnon 7 (Ojo 87) MOTM TOM CAIRNEY (FULHAM)