Mitro keeps up fine run
STEVE JUDGE
SUPER Serb Aleksandar Mitrovic scored for the seventh league game running to fire Fulham to the Championship summit.
He buried his first headed opportunity to notch his 21st goal of the season on 24 minutes.
Then he had a bit part in Fabio Carvalho’s wonderful 34th-minute strike and Neeskens Kebano’s finish on 72 minutes.
This was a seventh straight win for Marco Silva’s high-fliers but they were denied a sixth consecutive clean sheet by sub Victor Adeboyejo’s 78th-minute effort.
Harry Wilson made it 4-1 three minutes later.
Boss Silva said: “It was a fantastic performance.
“The players know we want to share the goals, but if you have a player like Mitro normally the striker is the one who scores.
“But we have to link with the winger and Kebano’s goal is a clear example of that.”
The only happy note for incoming Barnsley boss
Poya Asbaghi, who officially replaces Markus Schopp tomorrow, is he will only have to face Fulham once as manager this season.
Tykes caretaker boss Jo Laumann said: “Fulham are hard for every team in the league. They are the best footballing team.
“There is going to be a fresh start under the new manager and I truly believe we have the team and quality to get out of the situation.”
The gulf in class between the two teams looked much greater than the 22 places that now separate them.
Michael Hector rattled the post with a 19th-minute shot before Kenny Tete hung up a cross to the edge of the six-yard box and Mitrovic out-jumped Michal Helik to head into the corner.
Carvhalho then added a sumptuous second.
The tiny teen cut inside from the left, driving past three defenders, played a one-two with Mitrovic and hit a first-time shot into the bottom left corner.
Tom Cairney rattled the bar within minutes of the restart.
Kebano slotted in the third from Wilson’s cross and Adeboyejo pulled a goal back after Cauley Woodrow headed against the post.
This sparked Fulham into new life and Michael Seri’s pass sent Wilson clear to smash in.
It should have been five but Carvalho fluffed a lastminute open goal.
FULHAM: Rodek 7, Tete 7, Hector 7, Ream 7, Robinson 7 (Bryan 85); Reed 7 (Seri 80), Cairney 8 (Onomah 80), Carvalho 8; Wilson 8, Mitrovic 9, Kebano 8.
Subs not used: Gazzaniga, Decordova Reid, Muniz, Mawson.
BARNSLEY: Collins 7; Sibbick 6, Anderson 5, Helik 5, Williams 5; Freiser 5 (Leya Iseka 55, 6), Benson 6, Palmer 6 (Moon 75), Styles, Morris (Adeboyejo 75); Woodrow. Subs not used: Walton, Odour, Vita, Oulare.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Aleksandr Mitrovic: Looks like scoring every time the ball leaves the ground
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