Bernd Leno: The rating might seem a little low and harsh on our excellent German goalkeeper after an exceptional season, but he will probably feel he could have done better with both of Palace’s goals. Leno helped bail out his errant centre halves just after the half hour, but it felt a little too easy for Odsonne Edouard to fire high into the net against the run of play ten minutes before the break. Leno made a magnificent stop to deny Joel Ward from a poorly defended free-kick but couldn’t keep out the follow up. 6
Kenny Tete: The Dutch full back did well to prevent Palace from getting too much success along the left flank until the visitors broke away from a Fulham corner to open the scoring. He wasn’t as influential in attack as he has been this season with some of his deliveries lacking their usual accuracy, but Tete wasn’t alone in that. He crashed an early shot high into the Hammersmith End and a man who holds himself to such high standards might still be berating himself for the challenge on Ebere Eze that led to the second goal. 6
Antonee Robinson: A tricky afternoon for the American full back against the excellent Michael Olise, who was nullified for much of the afternoon but Robinson was troubled by the clever movement of Eze and others across the Palace forward line. He lacked a telling ball despite getting into some promising positions in the final third and a luckless afternoon ended with the ball bouncing off him and back into the path of Joel Ward to give the Palace skipper the chance to bundle in that late leveller. 6
Tosin Adarabioyo: Tosin began this game imperiously, nodding away a number of switches of play from his former team-mate Joachim Andersen and pinging a few raking passes of his own, especially to the left flank. One searching ball found Harry Wilson in space but it was almost as if the shock of going behind impacted upon the confidence of the big man. Adarabioyo struggled in the second half first against Edouard, Olise and Eze before Mateta made his physical presence felt. Was booked for a clumsy challenge as Fulham let that lead slip. 6
Issa Diop: One of the big problems for Marco Silva to solve this summer will be finding a naturally left-sided centre back given just how inconvenienced Issa Diop looks when he lines up there. He made a couple of poor passing errors in the first half as well as getting himself in a muddle in front of his own goal shortly before Edouard powered Palace ahead. There was one worrying moment when he lost his footing and presented the ball to the former Celtic forward and he nearly put through his own net during a tricky end to this absorbing contest. 6
Joao Palhinha: The Portuguese high prince of tackling was at his most combative again today, lifting Fulham’s levels importantly with a number of fierce challenges after the Whites had gone behind. Frankie highlighted Palhinha’s uncanny ability to stick out a leg and win the ball from incredible positions earlier in the season – and he is still doing that now. Twice in the first half he also turned defence into a promising break with a perceptive pass, which is an asset that will really suit Silva’s enterprising style. Joao’s cult hero status can only have increased by the fact that the midfielder waited until the Hammersmith End had finished serenading him with the song he loves before leaving the pitch after the lap of appreciation. 7
Harrison Reed: Another all-action display from the man Tony Khan fetched from down south in his Ford Fiesta. He was determined in the tackle, which was much-needed against an abrasive Palace outfit, and showcased the playmaking skills that Silva has added to his game to great effect when things weren’t really working for the Whites. Reed battled hard against Doucoure and Hughes in the engine room and embarked on a number of energy-sapping shuttle runs into the channels to offer an attacking option. 7
Harry Wilson: This wasn’t one of the Welsh winger’s most effective displays in a strong end to the season but he still managed to tempt Tyrick Mitchell into a crazy lunge deep into stoppage time to win the penalty that got Fulham back to parity. Wilson generally had the beating of the highly-rated Palace youngster but couldn’t translate that into the sort of deliveries that Mitrovic thrives upon. 6
Willian: What more is there to say about our brilliant Brazilian veteran? He strolls through matches rather like a vintage Rolls Royce but full backs seem powerless to prevent him from cutting inside and surging away from them. Only an outstanding save from Sam Johnstone denied him a trademark goal from distance that probably would have put Silva’s side out of sight. Watching Willian strut his stuff on the Cottage turf is a real joy – and hopefully we’ll have more magic moments to look forward to next season. 7
Tom Cairney: The importance of the captain, whose effectiveness at highest level was questioned by plenty before the start of the season, was illustrated by the way Fulham lost control of this contest when he was substituted with ten minutes left. Cairney helps the Whites keep possession far more easily when he is in the team and any worry that his legs might not stand the demands of slotting into the number 10 role in a Silva system are definitely unfounded. His clever passing and movement make him difficult for the opposition to pick up and Cairney has also added tenacity in the tackle since his last stint in the Premier League. 8
Aleksandar Mitrovic: The Serbian striker said this week that he will always wonder what might have been without his suspension. He has quickly got himself back on the goalscoring trail with two goals this afternoon following his fine header at Southampton. I don’t mind admitting I was nervous when he stood on the penalty spot preparing to take another spot-kick after his recent failures from twelve yards. I shouldn’t have been concerned – the penalty was almost as emphatic as the trademark header from Willian’s second half free-kick. He should have had a hat-trick having missed a sitter at the start of the second half, but it is brilliant to see the main man back in action again. 9
Substitutes:
Bobby Decordova-Reid: Struggled to get up to the pace of proceedings having been handed ten minutes at the end of what had become a very open derby. 6
Manor Solomon: The Israeli international had very little opportunity to influence proceedings in the final ten minutes with Fulham largely on the back foot. 6
