A week after Fulham’s fabulous home win over Nottingham Forest, here was ample evidence that Marco Silva’s side are some way short of the standards necessary to enter the European places. The Whites dominated possession but struggled to lay a glove on a well-organised Crystal Palace side, who turned a tight contest into a war of attrition and profited from an own goal from their former defender Joachim Andersen before Daniel Muñoz delivered a delicious second to clinch a club record fourth top flight away win in a row.

Where Palace were robust and ruthless, Fulham flailed around in the final third before flagging alarmingly. Silva’s side struggled to trouble Oliver Glasner’s three centre halves failing to force Dean Henderson into a save during a frustrating afternoon when the Fulham head coach admitted that his side slipped below the levels he demands. The warning signs were there as early as the third minute when the in-form Jean-Philippe Mateta surged away from Andersen and Calvin Bassey before drilling a shot into the side netting.

The fit-again Ebere Eze sparkled alongside Ismaila Sarr behind the in-form French forward and drew two sharp saves from Bernd Leno after finding the sort of space behind Sander Berge and Sasa Lukic that Fulham’s central midfielders didn’t afford Forest last week. Palace’s pretty passing patterns were allied with a sense of steel that has underpinned the revival after a slow start to the season. The visitors might have assisted by a laissez faire approach from referee Robert Jones, who ignored a series of aggressive tackles on Emile Smith Rowe before infuriating the home fans by waving play on when the tenacious Will Hughes dived in on Calvin Bassey,.

The Merseyside official further incensed the Hammersmith End by stopping play before a Palace corner to warn Andersen not to hold onto the visiting attackers. Jones was watching Hughes deliver the set-play when Sarr shoved the Fulham defender in the back and the Danish international diverted the ball beyond Leno at a crowded near post. Boos rang out at half time, largely directed at the referee rather than Fulham’s failure to ask probing questions of Palace’s miserly back-line, but the pattern continued after half time.

Raul Jimenez ran himself into the ground but the Mexican veteran never came closer to troubling Henderson than when he burst onto a threaded through ball from Alex Iwobi before Maxence Lacroix produced a superb saving tackle to deny the former Wolves forward. Fulham’s football was never as fluent as it was against Forest – and they ultimately paid the penalty for a lack of incisiveness in the final third, even if Mateta’s powerful finish from Eze’s exquisite flick was eventually adjudged offside after a torturous VAR delay.

But the visitors appeared to gain confidence from breaching Fulham’s defences. Only a splendid reaction save from Leno prevented Lacroix from doubling Palace’s lead and Jimenez bravely blocked a volley from Jefferson Lerma. Palace suddenly seemed able to flood through the middle of the park with ease, as evidenced by the way in which the Eagles punished Andreas Pereira audacious attempt to equalise from 30 yards out. Mateta motored past meek challenges from Pereira and Tom Cairney and arced a pass out to Munoz on the right. The wing-back skipped inside Bassey and shot superbly into Leno’s top corner from a tight angle.

There was no way back for Fulham – with Cairney following Emile Smith Rowe in limping out of the contest injured long before the final whistle. Leno made a smothering save as Mateta threatened to add a third, whilst a chastening afternoon for Silva’s side was summed up when Jimenez’s wayward shot struck Pereira and still didn’t force Henderson into a save.

FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne (Diop 80), A. Robinson, Andersen, Bassey; Berge (Cairney 50; Willian 80), Lukic; Traore, Iwobi (Muniz 80), Smith Rowe (Pereira 58); Jimenez. Subs (not used): Benda, Cuenca, R. Sessegnon, Reed.

BOOKED: Berge.

CRYSTAL PALACE (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Lacroix, Guehi, Richards; Munoz, Mitchell, Lerma (Wharton 81), Hughes (Devenny 90); Sarr (Kamada 75), Eze (Chilwell 90); Mateta. Subs (not used): Turner, Clyne, Kporpha, Esse, Nketiah.

BOOKED: Munoz, Guehi, Hughes.

GOALS: Andersen (o.g. 37), Munoz (66).

REFEREE: Robert Jones (Merseyside).

ATTENDANCE: 26,777.