Parker’s forward thinking is ideal fit

YOU can imagine what Jose Mourinho was thinking as he watched Tom Cairney hand Fulham the lead while hiding beneath his cap in the Craven Cottage directors’ box. ‘Park it, Scotty, park it,’ the former Manchester United manager might have tried to channel towards the Cottagers caretaker. Scott Parker resisted the urge, and Fulham reaped the rewards. They scored a second to secure a 2-0 win following nine successive defeats. In doing so, the leakiest defence in Europe’s elite divisions kept their first clean sheet in 2019. Parker wholly deserved his first win as a manager, too. It was no fluke. Fulham were better than Everton in every department. This was a glimpse of what Fulham could be under the 38-year-old, and why he deserves his chance as their permanent boss in the Championship. Fulham captain Cairney concurs. ‘I can speak on behalf of the players,’ said the scorer of their opener, just 31 seconds into the second half. ‘The players believe in him and his methods. We have definitely improved. ‘In his first games, we played Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea, and you don’t really get much harder than that. You’ve seen against Everton the improvement.’

FULHAM (4-3-2-1): Rico 6; Fosu-Mensah 7 (Christie 66min, 6), Ream 7.5, Le Marchand 7.5, Bryan 7; Sessegnon 7, Chambers 7, Anguissa 7 (Odoi 89); Cairney 8, Babel 8 (Seri 83); MITROVIC 8.5. Subs not used: Fabri, Kebano, Schurrle, Christie, Elliott. Scorers: Cairney 46, Babel 69. Booked: Ream, Le Marchand. Manager: Scott Parker 7.5. EVERTON (4-2-3-1): Pickford 5; Coleman 5, Jagielka 5.5, Zouma 5.5, Digne 5.5; Gomes 5, Gueye 5; Richarlison 4.5 (Tosun 84), Sigurdsson 4 (Walcott 74, 6), Bernard 5 (Lookman 84); Calvert-Lewin 4.5. Subs not used: Stekelenburg, Baines, Keane, Davies. Booked: Richarlison. Manager: Marco Silva 5. Referee: Lee Probert 5.5. Attendance: 24,971.