Fulham 4 – 1 QPR

Aleksandar Mitrovic’s fine goalscoring form continued as his double helped fire Fulham to a 4-1 victory over west London rivals QPR at Craven Cottage.

Mitrovic, the leading scorer in the Championship with 12 goals, took just 10 minutes to open the scoring, powering a low shot past QPR goalkeeper Seny Dieng to give the hosts a deserved lead going into the break.

However, QPR found a response after the interval as half-time substitute Lyndon Dykes made an instant impact, latching onto Chris Willock’s through ball before rounding Marek Rodak to bring the visitors level.

However, parity between the two sides lasted just 12 minutes as two goals in four minutes from Mitrovic, who now has eight goals in his last six Championship appearances, and Bobby Decordova-Reid swung the game in Fulham’s favour before Antonee Robinson’s late deflected strike put the finishing touch on an excellent afternoon for Marco Silva and his side.

The result sees Fulham bounce back from a difficult 4-1 defeat to Coventry before the international break and the three points mean they move up to third ahead of the rest of the Championship action this weekend.

Meanwhile, QPR see their two-game winning run ended as Mark Warburton’s side stay sixth for now.

How Mitrovic helped Fulham past QPR…

Fulham started on the front foot in front of their own fans, and it paid dividends as Mitrovic brought down Denis Odoi’s cross on his chest before powering a low strike past Dieng.

It was all Fulham in the opening stages and Mitrovic went close to a second, but on this occasion, Dieng reacted well to make a smart block to keep out the Serbia striker’s flicked header.

The hosts continued to press for a second as shots from Jean Michael Seri and Harry Wilson were deflected behind, but it never came as QPR started to build a foothold in the match.

Despite hardly testing goalkeeper Rodak in the opening 45 minutes, Mark Warburton’s side were inches from an equaliser as Willock’s shot rattled the woodwork after he was picked out by Moses Odubajo.

Despite that opportunity, Warburton had seen enough after QPR’s lacklustre first-half display and sent on Dykes for Dominic Ball, with the Scotland striker going to play alongside Charlie Austin in what was an attacking change for the visitors.

The move handed QPR an instant reward and Willock’s pass released Dykes, who took the ball around Rodak before finding the back of the net from a tight angle.

After a superb start to the second half and the goal, you’d have been forgiven for thinking the momentum was now with the visitors, but it was Fulham’s turn to respond.

They did it in fine style and it was that man Mitrovic who restored their lead, guiding Neeskens Kebano’s cross past Dieng and into the far corner for his 54th goal in 94 Championship games.

The game was made safe just four minutes later as Decordova-Reid latched onto Seri’s through ball and clinically found the far corner.

There was still time for another as Robinson’s late strike took a wicked deflection to wrong foot Dieng and add the finishing touch to a valuable victory for the hosts.

Man of the match – Aleksandar Mitrovic

It was business as usual for Mitrovic, who scored two brilliant goals to take his tally to 12 for the season. He is the leading scorer in the Championship and also the leading scorer in English football.

Sky Sports’ Keith Andrews:

« It’s a no-brainer. Whenever I’m in the stadium this fella just scores goals. Two quality, quality goals, and different types too. He’s their talisman and he leads them to victory again. He’s a top striker. »

Former Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer on Sky Sports:

« This league is one league he’s dominated for a number of seasons now. He’s been an instrumental player for Fulham in their challenge to get promoted again and this season again he’s started with tremendous form. »

What’s next?

QPR are back in action on Tuesday night as they host Blackburn in a 7.45pm kick-off. Fulham welcome Cardiff to Craven Cottage on Wednesday night (also 7.45pm). Both games are live on the Sky Sports Football Red Button and the Sky Sports app.