It’s a gimme for Cottagers as Muniz hits high notes

THE brass band playing Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! outside Craven Cottage had to stop when the arrival of Bournemouth’s team bus interrupted their tribute to ABBA.

It did not take long for the visitors to discover that Marco Silva’s Fulham would not be silenced so easily.

This was a commanding showing from the Cottagers, enough to make you wonder where they have been hiding amid a mediocre run of results.

Rodrigo Muniz got two of Fulham’s goals — the 22-year-old Brazilian continuing to up his game since the loan signing of another striker in Armando Broja — after Bobby De Cordova-Reid opened the scoring early.

Broja made his home debut from the bench as Fulham saw out this win, but at this rate he will struggle to start ahead of Muniz. ‘This was probably his best performance so far in a Fulham shirt,’ Silva said of Muniz. ‘If the chances are there, you have to show your quality.’

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola said: ‘We should have scored more, but we didn’t.’

Fulham scored after Muniz’s pass from the right-hand side was intercepted by Lewis Cook but a slip from the Bournemouth midfielder allowed De Cordova-Reid to bury the ball in the bottom corner.

Fulham should have added to their advantage long before they did, with Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto denying Willian after a fine one-two with Tom Cairney and then sparing Illya Zabarnyi from the indignity of an own goal.

How Dominic Solanke did not bury one Bournemouth corner, only he knows. It was a cute routine as Lloyd Kelly used his body to block Antonee Robinson, Fulham’s player at the front post.

Solanke ghosted in behind Robinson, but the striker with 13 Premier League goals this season scuffed the finish.

Instead, Fulham made it 2-0 before half-time when De Cordova-Reid headed the ball back into the six-yard box for Muniz to stab home. It became 2-1 in the 50th minute after a beautiful touch, turn and finish from Marcos Senesi. But Fulham struck again in the 52nd, Muniz tapping in Willian’s cross.

Bournemouth tried to respond — one acrobatic overhead kick from Solanke going narrowly over — but this was Fulham’s day.