BRUISER MITROVIC BATTERS BURNLEY
WATCHING Aleksandar Mitrovic battle with the big boys of Burnley, you got the sense these are the games he circles on his calendar at the start of the season.
Forget trips to Manchester United or Liverpool. These are the matches where the born bruiser can do what he does best.
From first minute to last, Mitrovic had Sean Dyche’s Burnley on a string, scoring twice and inspiring Fulham to their first Premier League win in 1,597 days.
Supported superbly by Andre Schurrle and Jean Michael Seri, the home side’s two other scorers, 23-year-old Mitrovic ran Ben Mee and James Tarkowski ragged.
Finally, Slavisa Jokanovic’s Fulham are up and running, courtesy of their Serbian battler who some felt would not be able to cut it in the top flight.
‘I didn’t watch Mitro (when he played for) Newcastle,’ Jokanovic said. ‘We believe he’s a quality player. Some people are thinking he can only be a Championship player. No, he showed the quality for fighting in the highest level. He’s a really important player.’
What Jokanovic found particularly satisfying was the way in which Fulham won. They looked like a cohesive team rather than a collection of individuals and did not compromise their short, sharp passing style of play.
Burnley were far from easy on the eye, their heavy legs were evident and the defending was very un-Dyche like. They have conceded 10 goals in three games and, thanks to their Europa League travels, this was their eighth competitive fixture of the season already, with Dyche making six changes to his side for this.
Within four minutes, Fulham had the lead. Seri, the midfielder signed from Nice for £18million, was just short of 30 yards when he received the ball and shifted it to his right. He let rip a shot that raced into the top corner, and while Joe Hart threw himself in the air, the Burnley goalkeeper could get nowhere near it.
England manager Gareth Southgate, in attendance at Craven Cottage, will not have held that one against Hart. He may have had issues with others that followed.
On 10 minutes, Burnley were back in it. A loose pass by Maxime Le Marchand fell to Aaron Lennon, who sprinted then squared to Jeff Hendrick. It looked like the forward had taken too long when his initial shot was blocked by Denis Odoi, but Hendrick got a second opportunity and scored.
Fulham had their lead back after 36 minutes when Seri took a corner short and Tom Cairney crossed, finding Mitrovic to head home at the back post.
Two minutes later, it was that man again. A cross by Luciano Vietto was inviting and Mitrovic headed beyond Hart again.
The visitors gave themselves a lifeline before half-time. A Charlie Taylor corner and a header by Mee led to a Tarkowski tap-in.
After the break, Schurrle was later fortunate to avoid a straight red when he lunged in on Ashley Westwood after losing control of the ball. Referee David Coote decided a yellow sufficed.
With seven minutes to play, Mitrovic struck a low shot from 20 yards that smacked the woodwork. Schurrle gladly picked up the rebound, composed himself and scored the goal his performance deserved.
Even in the five minutes of stoppage time, with Fulham two goals to the good, Mitrovic could be seen busting a gut to get the ball