Fulham v Crystal Palace Live Commentary & Result, 20/5/23, Premier League

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	PTS	Form
1	MCI Manchester City	38	28	5	5	94	33	+61	89	L D W W W
2	ARS Arsenal	38	26	6	6	88	43	+45	84	W L L W W
3	MUN Manchester United	38	23	6	9	58	43	+15	75	W W W W L
4	NEW Newcastle United	38	19	14	5	68	33	+35	71	D D W D L
5	LIV Liverpool	38	19	10	9	75	47	+28	67	D D W W W
6	BHA Brighton & Hove Albion	38	18	8	12	72	53	+19	62	L D W L W
7	AVL Aston Villa	38	18	7	13	51	46	+5	61	W D W L L
8	TOT Tottenham Hotspur	38	18	6	14	70	63	+7	60	W L L W L
9	BRE Brentford	38	15	14	9	58	46	+12	59	W W W L W
10	FUL Fulham	38	15	7	16	55	53	+2	52	L D W W L
11	CRY Crystal Palace	38	11	12	15	40	49	-9	45	D D W L W
12	CHE Chelsea	38	11	11	16	38	47	-9	44	D L L D W
13	WOL Wolverhampton Wanderers	38	11	8	19	31	58	-27	41	L D L W L
14	WHU West Ham United	38	11	7	20	42	55	-13	40	L W L W L
15	BOU AFC Bournemouth	38	11	6	21	37	71	-34	39	L L L L W
16	NFO Nottingham Forest	38	9	11	18	38	68	-30	38	D W D W L
17	EVE Everton	38	8	12	18	34	57	-23	36	W D L W D
18	LEI Leicester City	38	9	7	22	51	68	-17	34	W D L L D
19	LEE Leeds United	38	7	10	21	48	78	-30	31	L L D L L
20	SOU Southampton	38	6	7	25	36	73	-37	25	D L L L L

That's all from Craven Cottage today, so thank you for joining us and goodbye!

With a top-10 finish already assured, Fulham conclude a successful season next week at Old Trafford; meanwhile, Palace will host Nottingham Forest on the final day of their 2022-23 campaign.

An eventful end-of-season encounter in the capital ends all-square, as Crystal Palace recover from letting their lead slip to find a late leveller; thwarting Fulham's attempts to do a Premier League double over them for the very first time. Having now scored three goals in less than two games since returning from his lengthy suspension, Mitrovic not surprisingly played a major role in the hosts' comeback, but Ward was Palace's unlikely hero and the points are perhaps deservedly shared.

90' + 4' FULL-TIME: FULHAM 2-2 CRYSTAL PALACE

90' + 2' Still seeking his first Crystal Palace goal, Doucoure thumps a wayward shot way off-target from more than 20 yards out.

A. Robinson

Yellow Card

90' + 1' Once more out-thought by Olise near the touchline, Robinson this time clips his man and is booked by the referee.

90' After a weaving run from out to in, Eze reaches the right edge of the Fulham area, but when he unleashes his shot it spirals well over the crossbar.

88' Palhinha fouls Ayew again, and having upended his opponent could be considered lucky not to receive a second yellow card in short succession. He's playing on the edge now.

86' CLOSE! Palace almost go in front, as Eze clips a cute ball over the top and Olise then brings it under his spell before driving it just wide of the left-hand post!

João Palhinha

Yellow Card

85' Receiving his 13th yellow card of the season, Palhinha chops down Ayew with a rugged challenge from the side.

J. Ward

Goal

83' PALACE PULL LEVEL! Following Olise's cross from the left, Fulham fail to clear the ball inside their penalty area, and when it drops to Ward on the edge of the six-yard box, the defender is denied by Leno but then stabs it home at the second attempt! It's 2-2 now, and that throws this game wide open with less than 10 minutes left on the clock!

J. Mateta

O. Édouard

80' Hodgson responds by making Crystal Palace's first substitution: Mateta replaces Edouard up front.

B. De Cordova-Reid

H. Wilson

80' De Cordova-Reid is also introduced by Silva; Wilson makes way.

M. Solomon

T. Cairney

80' Fulham make a double change, as they turn to fresh legs to see them over the line. First, Solomon replaces captain Cairney.

78' Olise's free-kick from distance curls tamely towards the left-hand post, where Leno comfortably collects the ball.

77' Though they fail to make anything of their corner, Palace now have a free-kick 25 yards from goal, after Palhinha errs and Tosin compounds the midfielder's mistake by bundling over Edouard.

75' Once Olise wins a free-kick on the right by luring Robinson into an ill-advised tackle, Eze's driven cross is headed against Diop by Ward. That'll be Crystal Palace's first corner of the game.

72' After Ayew's layoff from the edge of the box, Edouard steps forward and scuffs a shot straight at Leno in the Fulham goal.

T. Adarabioyo

Yellow Card

71' Becoming the first player booked by the referee today, Tosin is shown a yellow card - apparently for time-wasting.

70' After a pause in proceedings as Mitrovic sinks to the turf with an injury, the striker resumes his role up front and Cairney then sends a cross towards the Palace area out of play on the left.

68' Willian progresses up the left again, but he decides to lay the ball off to Cairney on this occasion and the Fulham captain's cross is cut out by Hughes in the six-yard box.

66' SUPER SAVE! Driving in from the left, Willian zips clear of two defenders before sending a powerful shot at the top-right corner. Johnstone is equal to it, though, and reaches up to fingertip the ball just clear of his crossbar!

64' The action has intensified again, as Ayew has a shot blocked on the edge of the box and Palace pile forward in greater numbers.

Willian

Assist

61' Finally getting his set-piece delivery right, Willian curls over a cross from a right-sided free-kick; finding Mitrovic in space.

A. Mitrović

Goal

61' MITRO STRIKES AGAIN! Thundering an explosive header into the back of the net, Mitrovic puts Fulham in front: it's 2-1 to the Cottagers! Willian's free-kick from the right picks out the striker's surging run, and unopposed, he steers the ball into the bottom-right corner!

59' Isolated on the right flank, Tete does well to earn a throw-in under pressure from three Palace players, then Fulham win a free-kick near the touchline. Will their delivery be better this time?

57' With some inaccurate passing and a drop in pace both creeping in, this game is starting to resemble the end-of-season affair that it is.

55' Making progress down the left touchline, Willian and Wilson link up well, allowing the latter to clip over a cross towards the area, but he drifts the ball too close to Johnstone, who simply reaches up and plucks it out of the air.

53' Guehi strides up from the back and earns his team a free-kick midway through Fulham's half when Reed is drawn into a challenge. However, Olise's delivery floats above the heads of his team-mates in the area and the opportunity is lost.

51' Tete buys a free-kick by drawing contact from Ayew, 25 yards out on the right. Then, Willian ambitiously tries to catch Johnstone out with a curling low shot from the set-piece, which is easily saved by the Palace goalkeeper.

49' After a lunging challenge by Cairney on Doucoure in midfield, both men are left limping away after spending several seconds down on the turf. The game then continues after a brief pause.

48' Palace have recovered from their close escape right at the start of the half, and they now press forward and drive Fulham back a few yards.

46' MISS! Soon after kick-off, Wilson and Reed combine on the right, and the latter's low ball towards Mitrovic at the back post falls straight into the striker's path. However, he somehow turns the ball wide from close range - an unexpected miss from Fulham's top scorer!

46' Crystal Palace kick off, and we are back under way at Craven Cottage!

1' With some alert defending, Diop's late intervention denies Ayew a clear shot at goal from close range, and he is required to clear the ball for another corner soon after.

After scoring his 13th league goal of the season today, only two Fulham players have ever netted more than Mitrovic in a single Premier League campaign: Clint Dempsey (17 in 2011-12) and Dimitar Berbatov (15 in 2012-13). One more would see him surpass Louis Saha (13 in 2003-04).

A bright and breezy contest in the capital appeared to be ambling towards a goalless scoreline at its interval, but two strikes since the half-hour mark have given both sets of fans something to cheer about at Craven Cottage. Eze's counter-attacking prowess set up Edouard for Crystal Palace's opener, but they were hauled back by a last-gasp penalty, coolly converted by returning hero Mitrovic. Fulham will be relieved their dominance of the ball did not come to nothing, and there's everything still to play for in the second half.

45' + 6' HALF-TIME: FULHAM 1-1 CRYSTAL PALACE

A. Mitrović

Penalty Goal

45' + 5' FULHAM EQUALISE! With almost the final kick of the first half, Mitrovic slams his penalty into the top-left corner with power and precision - it'll be 1-1 at the break! What a bonus for the home side, who seemed set to trail at half-time.

45' + 3' PENALTY FOR FULHAM! In the very last seconds of stoppage-time, Mitchell stumbles into Wilson and concedes a spot-kick! He gets caught under the flight of the ball, then accidentally upends his opponent! The hosts have a great chance to equalise!

45' + 2' In the second minute of at least three added on for stoppages at the end of the first half, Fulham fail to threaten their visitors' goal twice with consecutive corners.

45' After a high boot by Mitchell brings down Reed just outside the right half of Palace's penalty area, Wilson's subsequent free-kick is whipped in and then headed clear by Hughes.

43' As Palace press on, Hughes wins a close challenge with Cairney just outside the area but can only send the ball scudding out of play for a Fulham goal-kick.

41' It's now the away side who are dictating the tempo, though an attempt by Hughes to slip into Fulham's area is ended by the midfielder's clumsy trip on Diop.

39' Johnstone punches a Fulham corner clear, but the hosts are still camped inside the Palace defensive third as they seek a quick equaliser.

36' Fulham have failed to win any of their last 11 Premier League matches when conceding the opening goal, dating back to October. In fact, they have a record of two wins and 12 losses from such circumstances this season.

E. Eze

Assist

34' Bringing the ball clear after a corner at the other end, Eze glides through the centre and then plays through a perfectly-weighted pass for Edouard to convert.

O. Édouard

Goal

34' PALACE LEAD! Another sharp counter-attack sees the Eagles soar ahead! Eze carries the ball through the middle of the pitch following a Fulham corner, then slips through Edouard. The Palace striker then thumps his shot unerringly into the top-left corner, leaving Leno well beaten! It's 1-0 to the visitors!

33' Andersen's full-blooded contest against Mitrovic continues, with the former bringing the latter down again and conceding a free-kick in midfield.

31' Latching on to Tosin's raking crossfield ball, Wilson sees his low cutback from the right byline deflected kindly into Johnstone's path, and the Palace goalkeeper gratefully grasps hold of it.

29' CLOSE! On the counter, Ayew streaks clear down the left and delivers a dangerous low ball across the six-yard box. Then, following a goalmouth scramble involving Leno and two Fulham defenders, Diop has to hack the ball away in desperation!

27' Palace are clearly growing into the game after a cautious start, and only Palhinha's perfectly-timed tackle stops Eze breaking through 20 yards out from goal.

25' Quite comically, Olise is left shirtless as he has to chase Robinson back down the flank. He had removed his jersey temporarily, but escapes an embarrassing outcome when Fulham fail to capitalise.

23' Edouard fails to control a sharp pass towards the edge of the area, and then his layoff towards Olise is inaccurate; causing the Eagles' attack to break down.

21' Though they have yet to force a shot on target, Fulham have had 74 per cent of the possession so far today. They have dictated proceedings, but Palace remain resolute.

19' Olise tries to create some space for himself on the right touchline, but his little nudge on the back of Robinson is spotted by the officials and a Fulham free-kick is awarded.

17' Leno slides out to claim the ball ahead of Eze after an angled ball arrives from the right flank, but it seems that the Palace forward was probably offside in any case.

15' From 25 yards out, Tosin sends a wild shot way over the crossbar, then he trudges back to his defensive position with the away fans' jeers ringing in his ears.

14' Fulham have won three Premier League London derbies this season, but they have also lost seven so far and were winless in their last five before today's game.

12' Despite howls of protest from Fulham fans and players alike, Mitchell escapes a penalty appeal following his coming-together with Mitrovic just inside the Palace area.

10' Guehi sprints across effortlessly to snuff out the danger when Reed attempts to break clear down the right, before Wilson drops to the turf with the second nose injury of the match - he was caught by Hughes' boot in midfield.

8' The hosts' early domination continues, as Ayew concedes a free-kick midway through the Palace half. Willian delivers it from the right, but his cross is horribly overhit and drifts straight out of play.

6' Patched-up and wearing a numberless jersey, Mitrovic returns to the fray as Fulham probe around the edge of Palace's defensive third with some precise passing.

5' Mitrovic has to trudge to the sideline with blood still streaming from his nose, and the game resumes with Fulham down to 10 men - for now, at least.

3' The game is paused in its infancy, as Andersen clatters Mitrovic on the nose in an aerial challenge; drawing blood with a stray elbow to the Serbian striker's face.

1' The hosts kick off, and we are under way!

Striding out into the London sunshine, both teams take to the Craven Cottage pitch, and kick-off is now just moments away!

Crystal Palace also make just one switch of personnel - in their case, a regretably enforced one. Edouard replaces injured talisman Wilfried Zaha, who could now have played his last game of the season - and has perhaps already made his final Palace appearance. Luka Milivojevic, James Tomkins and Jeffrey Schlupp are all absent from the Eagles' squad once again.

After scoring as a substitute last week, Mitrovic makes his first Fulham start since the end of an eight-game ban; Vinicius is therefore dropped to the bench in the hosts' only change today. Daniel James again misses out due to a thigh injury, while Andreas Pereira, Tim Ream and Layvin Kurzawa also remain absent.

SUBS: Joe Whitworth, Jairo Riedewald, Naouirou Ahamada, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Nathaniel Clyne, Chris Richards, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Tayo Adaramola, James McArthur.

CRYSTAL PALACE (4-2-3-1): Sam Johnstone; Joel Ward, Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen, Tyrick Mitchell; Will Hughes, Cheick Doucoure; Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, Jordan Ayew; Odsonne Edouard.

SUBS: Marek Rodak, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Sasa Lukic, Cedric Soares, Manor Solomon, Shane Duffy, Carlos Vinicius, Luke Harris, Neeskens Kebano.

FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Bernd Leno; Kenny Tete, Tosin Adarabioyo, Issa Diop, Antonee Robinson; Harrison Reed, Joao Palhinha; Harry Wilson, Tom Cairney, Willian; Aleksandar Mitrovic.

After a 2-0 win over Bournemouth last week, Crystal Palace occupy 12th place in the table; level on points with 11th-placed Chelsea. The Eagles have ascended the standings since Roy Hodgson's return but have recently lost back-to-back away matches without scoring - in all, Palace have won just twice on the road in 2023. Today's visitors were beaten 3-0 by Fulham on Boxing Day and have never lost twice to the Cottagers in a single Premier League season.

Ahead of today's final London derby of the 2022-23 Premier League season, Fulham are seeking their third successive win, following recent triumphs over Leicester City and Southampton. Marco Silva's men consigned the latter to relegation last weekend, but they sit safely in 10th place themselves after promotion last year. Eight defeats from their last 12 matches, though, have seen the Cottagers' pursuit of an unlikely European place recede, and they have lost both of their last two home games against Crystal Palace.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of today's Premier League clash between Fulham and Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage!

Fulham v Crystal Palace Live Commentary, 20/5/23

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