Four-star Newcastle make light work of ten-man Fulham

ALL SMILES: Newcastle United's Miguel Almiron celebrates scoring their side's fourth goal of the game during the Premier League match at Craven Cottage, London. Pic: John Walton/PA Wire

FULHAM 1 NEWCASTLE 4 

Fulham suffered an afternoon of utter calamity, as Newcastle romped to their second win of the season at Craven Cottage.

Reduced to ten men after Nathaniel Chalobah was sent off after only eight minutes, the Cottagers were ripped apart by Eddie Howe’s men.

The first 45 minutes were a complete disaster for Silva’s men. Defensively they were awful right from the start, as Callum Wilson missed a sitter from six yards.

But then came the first blow, as Chalobah picked up a red card after only eight minutes for a terrible challenge on Sean Longstaff.

Two minutes later Newcastle took advantage, as Kevin Mbabu missed Kieran Trippier’s cross at the far post. Joe Willock nodded the ball across, and Wilson converted from point black range.

The Newcastle striker could have had a hat-trick inside the first 25 minutes, as he then curled his shot an inch over from ten yards.

But there was no escape when Bruno Guimaraes chipped the ball in, and Almiron quite brilliantly volleyed it first time with the outside of his left foot into the far corner.

But ten man Fulham’s afternoon then got even worse, as talisman and top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic limped off injured.

Cottagers keeper Bernd Leno was keeping them in the game with a series of brilliant saves, stopping Willock’s flick, and diving full stretch to keep out the Newcastle midfielder’s low shot.

He pulled off an even better save two minutes before half time, when he tipped Sven Botman’s header onto the post - but there was Longstaff with no one near him to stab in the rebound.

Silva threw on Tom Cairney as he tried to stem the tide, but it did not work. Willock once again got away, and from his low cross Almiron stabbed in his second goal.

Fulham grabbed one back when Bobby Decordova-Reid nodded in Neeskens Kebano’s cross, but the game was long over.

FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Leno 6; Mbabu 5 (Cairney 45 6), Adarabioyo 6, Ream 6, Kurzawa 5 (Diop 45 6); Reed 5, Chalobah 4; James 6 (Kebano 69 6), Pereira 6, Decordova-Reid 6; Mitrovic 6 (Vinicius 36).

Subs: Rodak, Duffy, Kebano, Onomah, Harris, Parkes.

NEWCASTLE (4-3-3): Pope 7; Trippier 7 (Lewis 82 6), Schar 7 (Lascelles 82 6), Botman 7, Burn 7; S Longstaff 7, Guimaraes 7, Willock 7; Almiron 8, Wilson 7 (Fraser 64 6), Murphy 7.

Subs: Karius, Dummett, Joelinton, Wood.

Referee: Darren England (Doncaster) 7.