Crystal Palace 2-0 Fulham: Milivojevic and Schlupp see off Cottagers

Goals from Luka Milivojevic and Jeffrey Schlupp were enough to earn Crystal Palace all the points in a huge six-pointer against relegtion rivals Fulham.

Palace’s Deadline Day arrival Michy Batshuayi made the bench, 48 hours after arriving on loan from Chelsea for the rest of the season, but it was Christian Benteke who was handed his first start since injuring his knee back in September.

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It felt like a game between two teams down the wrong end of the table desperate not to lose as chances early on were at a premium. Aleksandar Mitrovic definitely should have done better when he found space in the Palae box and nodded Joe Bryan’s cross wide.

Down the other end Christian Benteke took a wild swing from distance and nearly hit the people in the corporate boxes enjoying their cheese boards and port or whatever they get given.

But 25 minutes in Palace were handed the opportunity to take a precious lead…literally as Cyrus Christie almost punched the ball clear under pressure from Benteke. Luka Milivojevic stepped up and did what he does best from the spot, converting to give Roy Hodgson’s current team the lead against his former team.

Benteke, searching for his first goal in red and blue for nine months then came mightily close when he acrobatically converted Andros Townsend’s cross with a bicycle kick only to see it crash against the crossbar. The fans sung the beleaguered striker’s name in response.

Palace ended the first half the stronger, seeing a lot of possession but struggling to carve out any further meaningful chances while Mitrovic had the last opportunity before the halftime whistle as he nodded Jean Michael Sari’s cross way over Vicente Guaita’s crossbar.

Claudio Ranieri rolled the dice at half-time, bringing on striker Luciano Vietto for defender Tim Ream as he went all out attack in a bid to rescue some precious points from this relegation battle. January arrival Ryan Babel, sporting red dyed hair (did he think he was still playing for Liverpool?) had very little impact up front for the Cottagers.

Jordan Ayew, who until this month had had little impact in a Palace shirt, drew a good save from Sergio Rico and seemed to be enjoying playing off a big man for once as Hodgson reverted back to his familiar 4-4-2 formation.

Tom Cariney blazed one well over down the other end and a man in the crowd volleyed the ball back honestly more accurately than anything Ryan Babel did all game. Ranieri was forced to bring former Palace loanee Tim Fosu-Mensah on for Christie who’s afternoon went from bad to worse when he was forced off with an injury on the hour.

Jeffrey Schlupp, enjoying a good game in a slightly more attacking role, made space for himself well and drilled a low one that Rico did well to parry away as the Eagles looked to put the game to bed. From the resulting corner James Tomkins clashed heads with a Fulham man and needed extensive treatment for what looked like a broken nose. He carried on like the beast he is despite Scott Dann getting ready to replace him.

Mamadou Sakho should have sealed all three points when he met Patrick van Aanholt’s cross but could only nod wide with Rico beaten. With 20 minutes to go Hodgson brought off Benteke for Max Meyer and some fans booed that but I have absolutely no idea why.

Mitrovic had a penalty shout that wasn’t even worth this sentence to be honest before Batchuayi was given the final few minutes in the place of the hard-working Ayew, who impressed up front. Fulham pressed for a precious equaliser but found a solid Palace defence and goalkeeper in the way.

And it was the substitute who helped wrap up the game, finding space well in the box and firing at Rico who could only palm into the patch of Schlupp who converted. The win moves Palace seven points clear of the drop but leaves Fulham four points from safety and very much in danger.