Fulham vs Everton. Premier League.
Craven Cottage.
Match report and free highlights as Dominic Calvert-Lewin climbs to the top of the Premier League scoring charts with Craven Cottage double; Fulham left to rue defensive mistakes and another missed penalty as second-half fightback falls short
Sunday 22 November 2020 16:30, UK
Everton climbed to sixth in the Premier League with a dramatic 3-2 win at Fulham, whose second-half fightback fell agonisingly short after yet another missed penalty.
Fulham fell behind inside 42 seconds and trailed 3-1 at half-time after Dominic Calvert-Lewin's double and Abdoulaye Doucoure's first Everton goal had cancelled out Bobby Decordova-Reid's equaliser.
Fulham were much improved in the second half with substitute Ruben Loftus-Cheek reducing the arrears, but only after Ivan Cavaleiro had deepened Scott Parker's side's penalty woes with a shanked spot-kick over the bar.
The Cottagers were left to pay the penalty for missed chances and defensives frailties as Everton ground out a victory which lifts them up to sixth in the Premier League table and leaves the hosts a point above the relegation zone.
Everton got off to the perfect start with their fastest Premier League goal since 2017. Decordova-Reid gifted possession to the returning Richarlison and his cutback way bundled in at close range by Calvert-Lewin with less than a minute on the clock.
Fulham were all at sea at the back as Everton pushed for a second but had joy in the opposite direction as Tom Cairney's threaded pass played Decordova-Reid through on goal, and the forward hauled the hosts level with a clinical finish on the quarter-hour mark.
But parity was short-lived as Everton hit their stride and restored their lead with a 14-pass team goal that saw the ball worked from right to left before Lucas Digne's centre was dispatched by Calvert-Lewin.
Fulham failed to heed the warning on 35 minutes as another flowing attack ended with Digne crossing for the unmarked Doucoure to head Everton into a two-goal half-time lead.
The hosts were markedly improved after the interval and their fortunes changed instantly following the introduction of Loftus-Cheek and Aleksandar Mitrovic, who combined to win a penalty on 67 minutes.
With Mitrovic and Ademola Lookman having missed recent penalties for club and country, Cavaleiro took over the set-piece duties, but Fulham's penalties woes took another turn for the worse as he lost his footing and smashed the ball high over the bar.
Loftus-Cheek erased Fulham's disappointment when he grabbed a lifeline on 70 minutes with his first goal in 18 months, but Everton stood firm in the face of sustained pressure to return to winning ways.
Fulham boss Scott Parker: "I take positives from the performance second half but my underlying thoughts at the moment are the first half in terms of the way we approached the game. We were second best to a lot of things, but we showed our quality and got our noses back into it at 1-1, but in terms of duels, in terms of 50-50s, in terms of putting your mark on the football match, basics of the game, we didn't do that well enough.
"We gave ourselves a real uphill task in conceding three goals. In saying that, the second half was much improved, we changed things around a little bit in terms of tactics. Second half we performed with exactly what we missed in the first half in terms of battles and understanding the football match.
"If you're one of the best teams in the world, or you're Fulham, it's got to be a given. Certainly first half, we fell short of that at times, and that disappoints me, really disappoints me. But second half was much improved, and we showed some quality."
Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti: "Now, in this moment, Calvert-Lewin is really focused in the box. Every ball that arrives from crosses, he is ready and is there. He is doing really well, honestly, I didn't expect him to have the consistency he has in this period.
"To win the golden boot it would mean he is scoring lots of goals and good also for the club, but I don't know. I hope for him because it would be good for us! The target is not this for him, the target is to score goals to help the team be at the top of the table.
"In this moment we don't have to look at the table. We started really well and had a difficult period, now the difficult period is gone, and we need to have consistency in our results. Every game will be a test, but our target is to fight for the top of the table, not the bottom."
It was the kind of performance that left you questioning if there was a more complete striker in the Premier League at the present.
Everton were aided by the returning Richarlison and inspired Alex Iwobi, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin was the standout performer in an at times scintillating attacking display from the Toffees, as they plundered three first-half goals against Fulham flawed defence.
Calvert-Lewin's first brace of the season saw him hit double figures in the Premier League after just nine games, leaving him clear at the top of the Premier League scoring charts as his remarkable season showed no sign of letting up.
Everton host Leeds on Saturday Night Football at 5.30pm - live on Sky Sports Premier League. Fulham travel to Leicester on Monday Night Football at 5.30pm - live on Sky Sports Premier League.
