Millwall 1-2 Fulham: Goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Fabio Carvalho settle derby

Fabio Carvalho set up one goal and scored the other as Fulham held off Millwall to cement their status as early league leaders.

Carvalho should have increased his tally as Fulham dominated throughout with their slick passing and movement.

Benik Afobe headed his first Lions goal four minutes from time to set up a tense climax, but the visitors held on.

Millwall were opened up in the third minute by a swift counter-attack along the left flank and Carvalho galloped into the box, cutting the ball back for Mitrovic to tuck away first time at the near post.

Fulham doubled their advantage when Neeskens Kebano’s pass split the home defence again and Carvalho timed his run perfectly, slamming the finish beyond the startled Bartosz Bialkowski.

Ivan Cavaleiro should have made it 3-0 when Carvalho picked him out with another incisive ball on the half-hour mark, but the Portuguese blazed his shot wide with only Bialkowski to beat.

The Lions goalkeeper thwarted Fulham with a double stop just after the restart, diving low to parry Mitrovic’s drive and recovering quickly to block the follow-up from Carvalho.

The home side were indebted to crunching challenges by Daniel Ballard and Jake Cooper to deny Carvalho and prevent further damage, while Bialkowski was called into action again with saves from Kebano and Cavaleiro.

Millwall’s former Fulham centre-forward Matt Smith, on as a second-half substitute, had few opportunities to create aerial pressure until the closing stages.

But Smith rose to head Murray Wallace’s cross into the path of Afobe, who nodded home to ensure a nervy finish.

Millwall manager Gary Rowett said:

“I was disappointed with the two goals and, until about 75 minutes, the performance of the team. Fulham gave us a real lesson in movement, work-rate and quality – they’re a fabulous side.

“At some point you have to force the issue. We tried to do that in a more direct way in the second half and make it more physical, but they make it really difficult for you to create any sort of momentum in attack.

“I thought we showed character in the latter stages of the game. Maybe it’s the goal that gives you belief but I’d like to have seen a little of that belief when we conceded two early goals.”

Fulham head coach Marco Silva said:

“I’m really pleased, not just because we won the game but because we showed character, personality and very good quality. The players are learning fast and doing what we’re asking them.

“Of course we respect Millwall but we were the dominant team on the pitch and we created so many chances to score more.

“Last time we scored five (at Huddersfield) and we should have scored more than two but I’m really pleased with the way we controlled the game. Our opponents had maybe two shots, nothing more.”