Sergio Rico: Had a jittery start when he failed to gather a sighter from Philip Billing that was drilled at him from long range, but looked assured after that. The Spanish goalkeeper wasn’t called upon for long periods – making only routine stops for the remainder of the first half – but produced a couple of key saves to preserve Fulham’s lead late on. Tried to release Mitrovic with a couple of long punts upfield without success. 6

Denis Odoi: Looked in control again at the heart of Fulham’s back three with another confident display against a physical and direct Huddersfield side. Dealt with a number of long balls forward easily and at times in the second half sparked some Fulham attacks with a few bursts forward with the ball from deep. 6

Alfie Mawson: Delivered another composed performance before being struck down by a knee injury at half-time. By the sounds of Claudio Ranieri’s post-match comments, it could be quite serious. That is just what Fulham don’t need at a time that Mawson, the organiser amongst those three centre halves, is beginning to become the kind of leader at the back that we all envisaged he would be after his arrival from Swansea. 6

Tim Ream: The American appears well suited to Ranieri’s tactical switch as he looks less vulnerable to the pace of opposition attacks with two colleagues alongside him. Being the spare man in a back three also allows his confidence on the ball to come to the fore, although some of his longer balls missed their target yesterday. 6

Cyrus Christie: Provided some real energy down the right flank, becoming far more influential as an attacking option as Fulham upped their game in the second half. Might have scored when he sneaked into the penalty area on the blind side of the Huddersfield defence early on but appeared to be put off his header by Terence Kongolo’s late jump. You can’t fault his work rate and Christie got into several good positions in the second half. 7

Joe Bryan: A much more encouraging performance from the left wing-back. Offered a real threat after the break with numerous raids forward. One cross created a great chance for Mitrovic, another led indirectly to the penalty and Bryan could have scored himself had his own shot carried a little more conviction. Arguably his strongest showing in a Fulham shirt to date. 7

Calum Chambers: Another whole-hearted display at the base of the Fulham midfield. Seemed a little crowded out in the first period as Huddersfield’s five-man midfield nullified any prolonged spells of possession that Fulham enjoyed, but gave some real ballast in the second half as the home side poured forward. He might not be the most technically gifted but Chambers has found a role for himself in this side and gives 100%. You know he will be badly missed against Arsenal on New Year’s Day. 6

Jean-Michael Seri: A frustrating afternoon for the Ivorian, whose 45 minutes were summed up by an added ferocity to his play than any real quality. Like most of the Fulham midfield, he struggled to get any rhythm when in possession and was fortunate to escape with only a yellow card after a late tackle on Florent Hadergjona. It was telling that Fulham found more cohesiveness after Seri was sacrificed at half-time. 5

Luciano Vietto: The Argentine was a surprise inclusion in the starting eleven after not really getting a look in to date under Claudio Ranieri. He drifted intelligently around the pitch, but looked lightweight against some of Huddersfield’s robust challenges. Still created a couple of excellent openings either side of half-time – his deep cross for Christie fashioned the game’s first real chance and he helped to play in Bryan after the break. 6

Tom Cairney: The returning captain was largely on the periphery until he was moved into his more natural central midfield role after Ranieri’s reshuffle at half time. Orchestrated the play from deep for much of the second period, finding pockets of space to play defence-splitting passes. His role in the winning goal seems a little under-appreciated. Cairney showed quite awareness to capitalise on Billing’s eagerness to shoot from long range, seize the loose ball and set Ryan Sessegnon away. 7

Aleksandar Mitrovic: It feels like we’ll soon run out of superlatives for the Serbian number nine. Battled throughout, despite being isolated for long periods against Huddersfield’s three centre backs, and fighting a 39 degree fever. It seemed as though it could be another one of those days when he missed two decent first half chances with his head and then was denied by a stunning save from Lossl. Showed great professional to encourage Kamara after he was robbed of the chance to take the penalty himself and then spared the French forward’s blushes by finding the perfect finish in the first minute of added time. 8

Substitutes:

Maxime Le Marchand: The French defender delivered a low-key but crucial display as a half-time substitute for the injured Alfie Mawson. Calm in possession and excellent in terms of his positioning some of Le Marchand’s longer-range passing helped Fulham up the tempo during the second half. 6

Aboubakar Kamara: Where to start with that? I love Kamara for the energy and physicality he brings to the side and it is possible to agree with Mitrovic that the Frenchman changed the complexion of the game by giving Fulham more of an attacking threat after the break, but his self-indulgence in grabbing the ball for the penalty and refusing to let go belonged in the playground rather than the Premier League. It could have been season-defining rather than merely embarrassing and should be severely punished. 5

Ryan Sessegnon: The teenager, seemingly still not fully fit after his groin injury, was set to come on at the break until the extent of Mawson’s injury was revealed. Instead, he had to settle for a fifteen minute cameo, but still had a decisive influence on proceedings. Created three chances in his brief time on the field and could have scored when he almost sneaked in at the near post. Saved the best for last with an intelligent run inside to drag the Huddersfield defence out of position and produced a ball reminiscent of his Wembley one to put Mitrovic in the clear. 7