Fulham vs Luton Town. Sky Bet Championship.
Craven CottageAttendance19,538.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Fulham and Luton Town at Craven Cottage
Tuesday 3 May 2022 06:12, UK
Fulham clinched the Sky Bet Championship in style, thrashing Luton Town 7-0 at Craven Cottage as Aleksandar Mitrovic broke yet another record.
The Serbian striker broke Guy Whittingham's second-tier record of 42 goals in a single 46-game campaign with his two second-half strikes taking him onto 43 for the season with a game to play.
"I know I've always tried to say I've not thought about the record but when you're that close and everybody starts talking [about it], so of course I wanted to break [it] and today it happened," Mitrovic told Sky Sports after the game.
"It was special in a big win so I think we finished the season like we dreamed, like we wanted with a big win at home in front of our crowd and I broke the record, so everything was perfect."
The stunning result in Fulham's final home game of the season saw them lift the trophy in front of their own fans as they prepare for another season back in the Premier League.
After slipping up against Nottingham Forest in midweek, Fulham knew a win would see them secure the title. Luton themselves were not looking to be there to make up the numbers though, with a top-six finish in their sights with three points.
And although it was set to be an even affair in the first half an hour - both goalkeepers forced into early saves - once Fulham scored, they did not look back.
The hosts notched up their 100th Championship goal of the season with Tom Cairney's opener. He played a neat pass down the right of the area for Harry Wilson, who then returned the ball to his captain at the top. It was then a superb, curling hit from Cairney to see Fulham ahead.
Ten minutes later and a goal of similar quality doubled the lead. Peter Kioso - who replaced the injured Fred Onyedinma after the opening goal - headed the ball clear, but only as far as Kenny Tete who then rifled the ball home from 20 yards out with a fantastic strike.
Both Wilson and Cairney could have added the third either side of the break, but it was Fabio Carvalho who came up with the goods in the 54th minute.
It was a brilliant run from the youngster, cutting in from the left, with Mitrovic's through ball tapped into his path by Wilson. Carvalho then picked up the pass before slotting home past Matt Ingram - and there were more goals yet to come in the second half.
Mitrovic then equalled Whittingham's record with Fulham's fourth. The striker picked up Wilson's through ball, with his initial attempt bouncing off a sliding Reece Burke. However, the ball was immediately back at Mitrovic's feet as he showed brilliant instincts to slot past Ingram.
The fifth of the evening was not far behind. Carvalho skipped across the top of the area before slotting the ball through for Bobby Decordova-Reid. He easily slipped between the two Luton defenders before finding the back of the net.
Jean Michael Seri had been on for just seven minutes as he fired home Fulham's sixth. It was from a similar distance to Tete's too as Luton failed to clear their lines properly. Seri picked up the loose ball from 20 yards and rifled the ball home.
But there was more to come as Mitrovic sealed the Championship title in style while bagging yet another record. He was picked out on the left side of the area before slotting home into the far corner past a battered Ingram, celebrating with the fans behind the goal.
It will be a disappointing result for Luton, who will now be aiming for a win against Reading on Saturday to secure their spot in the Championship play-offs.
Fulham manager Marco Silva speaking to Sky Sports:
"They [the players] have been working really hard to achieve it. To do it the way we did it tonight was fantastic, it reflects our ferocity and everything we did this season.
"They should really celebrate it because they achieved something really important but the way they did it, it was fantastic and I'm really proud of them.
"It's been a fantastic season. We deserve it; we've been the most dominant team this season.
"The gap is getting bigger between the competitions [Championship and Premier League] but we've built a fantastic platform this season and we want to keep doing that.
"Of course it'll be tough [in the Premier League] but we have to be positive because we've done really well, we have good players, are a good club and we want to grow to prepare ourselves well for the future."
Fulham captain Tom Cairney speaking to Sky Sports:
"We've gone up in amazing fashion. I really do believe that if we can stay up one year, Fulham will be there for a long, long time.
"We'll enjoy this moment first before we think about next season but the goal will be to stay in the league."
Asked about Marco Silva's impact: "He's brought a hell of a lot. He's brought a professionalism, a desire, a work rate, a training ground mentality change by improving little things around the training ground like food. It sounds minor, but it's big.
"He's also brought attacking football; I've not played under a manager when you're 2-0 or 3-0 up at half-time and says, 'Go and score more goals in the second half' so he's different."
Luton Town manager Nathan Jones told Sky Sports:
"Congratulations to them, they've won the league and they're the best side in the league.
"We're an aggressive side, we want to play in a certain way, but I've got nine first-team players out. Pace, power, my front two were missing today. I couldn't play Harry Cornick, who was on the bench, I couldn't bring him on.
"We're missing five midfield players, both wing-backs. It's the equivalent of them having nine players out, including Mitrovic and going to Man City - that's the difference in what it is.
"It's a tough day for us. It's not going to come down to goal difference, I'm sure so we've got one game to make sure we win it, and we would have taken that at the beginning of the season.
"We've got to dust ourselves down, make sure we're ready for a home game and win. That's what we have to do.
"Everything about it [the game] didn't go right. But that's football and we can't dwell on it… We've got four days now to be ready for our biggest game in a long time."
Fulham's final game of the season on Saturday will see them play away to Sheffield United, who will also be looking to secure their own play-off spot. Luton will host Reading, with both games kicking off at 12.30pm.
