FULHAM CLOSED THE gap on Sky Bet Championship leaders Bournemouth after a crushing 7-0 win at 10-man Blackburn.
Marco Silva’s men were utterly ruthless as they swatted aside a Blackburn team who had lost only once on home turf this season.
Any discussion of a tricky night was put to bed within 19 minutes as the Cottagers raced into a two-goal lead through Neeskens Kebano’s precise finish and a close-range Aleksandar Mitrovic header – his ninth goal in the last five games.
The game was effectively ended as a contest on the half hour when Blackburn’s Jan Paul Van Hecke was dismissed for a dangerous tackle and Fulham ran riot thereafter.
Harry Wilson’s brace in the space of four second-half minutes – a controlled 54th-minute strike followed by a powerful effort struck beyond Thomas Kaminski made it four but they were merciless and Kebano’s deflected shot made it five in the 79th minute.
Substitute Rodrigo Muniz netted a brace of his own by converting Kebano’s cross and clinically heading home in stoppage time as Fulham moved within two points of Bournemouth after a fifth successive win that has yielded 20 goals.
Just the seven goals this evening. 7️⃣#BLAFUL
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) November 3, 2021
The Cottagers wasted no time showcasing their firepower, hitting the front in the sixth minute when Bobby Decordova-Reid weaved his way into the box and squared for Kebano, who timed his run to perfection and rifled into the top corner.
The 19th minute brought goal 19 of the season for Mitrovic, who was given the freedom of the six-yard box to nod in Jean Michael Seri’s pinpoint corner from close range.
Ben Brereton Diaz struck the side netting for Blackburn but that was as good as it got, as Van Hecke saw red on the half hour for a high challenge that upended Wilson.
Fulham seized total control and their lead would have been bigger at the break but for Kaminski superbly denying both Harrison Reed and Mitrovic.
The pattern continued after the break, with Kaminski producing heroics to deny Decordova-Reid when clean through, but the inevitable third came in the 54th minute when Mitrovic’s wonderful ball found Wilson who coolly slotted under Kaminski.
He had his fifth of the season and Fulham’s fourth just four minutes later, profiting from Mitrovic’s quick thinking before hammering into the left corner.
A brutal evening for Rovers got worse as Kebano fortuitously notched his third of the campaign with a deflected 79th-minute strike and two minutes later, his inviting cross found Muniz who prodded home for Fulham’s sixth.
Muniz put Fulham in seventh heaven in the 91st minute, powering home a near-post header from Antonee Robinson’s cross as Fulham sent out an ominous statement to the league and capped off a chastening night for the hosts.
That winning feeling... 😍#COYW #pnefc pic.twitter.com/vJup8bkLd0
— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) November 3, 2021
Elsewhere, Ali McCann’s first Preston goal stunned Scott Parker’s leaders by sentencing Bournemouth to their first Championship defeat of the season.
Ben Whiteman was also on target with Philip Billing replying for the Cherries as Preston picked up their first away win of the campaign.
Bournemouth were without the injured Jordan Zemura so Wales defender Chris Mepham was pressed into action as a makeshift left-back.
Jamal Lowe and Ben Pearson also came into the side at the expense of Gavin Kilkenny and Jaidon Anthony as the Cherries started the game with the team that ended Saturday’s 2-0 win at Reading.
The Cherries dictated the opening half an hour without managing to trouble Preston goalkeeper Daniel Iversen.
Billing’s 13th-minute free-kick after Dominic Solanke had been fouled which the Denmark midfielder curled tamely wide was as close as they came to turning their territorial domination into a goal.
Top-scorer Solanke was well-marshalled by Preston defender Patrick Bauer in particular.
Bauer did well to get there ahead of Solanke after Columbian international Jefferson Lerma looked to have played him through on Iversen’s goal.
Preston started the evening 19 points below their table-topping hosts but came close to opening the scoring 11 minutes before half-time.
Tom Barkhuizen used his pace to burst beyond Mepham on the right wing before shooting into the side-netting from an acute angle.
Barkhuizen carved another chance for the visitors soon after, recycling a corner back into the penalty area for Josh Earl to volley goalwards, drawing a brave block from defender Lloyd Kelly.
Solanke was denied by a vital last-ditch tackle from nemesis Bauer when he would have been one-on-one with Iversen a minute after the restart.
Preston then showed their quality at the other end to break the deadlock courtesy of Whiteman’s 52nd-minute opener.
Barkhuizen raced into space on the right flank before picking out Whiteman 12 yards out and the midfielder expertly picked out the top left corner with a pinpoint strike.
Eight minutes later and Just as Bournemouth boss Parker was preparing to go to his substitutes’ bench, the Cherries equalised through Billing.
Jack Stacey’s low right-wing cross was only half-cleared by Sean Maguire and Billing reacted quickly to turn onto the loose ball and fire into the bottom right corner.
Bournemouth were almost gifted the lead when Andy Hughes sliced a clearance across the face of his own goal.
Mepham forced a smart save from Iversen with a 20-yard effort as the hosts pushed for a late winner while Solanke also headed wide from Ryan Christie’s free-kick.
But it was Preston who scored again in the 78th minute when McCann swept home from Emil Riss’ left-wing cross.
Iversen made a brilliant double save from Stacey and Jamal Lowe to stop Bournemouth equalising for a second time in the 85th minute.
