Soccer

Mitrovic double hands Ranieri winning start at Fulham

Premier League round-up: Everton move up to sixth spot; Vardy earns point for Leicester

Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic scores his side’s third goal during the Premier League match against Southampton at Craven Cottage. Photograph: Steven Paston/PA Wire

Sat Nov 24 2018 - 18:12

Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice as Claudio Ranieri won his first match as Fulham boss to pile pressure on Southampton manager Mark Hughes with a 3-2 win at Craven Cottage.

Stuart Armstrong netted a brace – his first Saints goals – either side of strikes from Mitrovic and Andre Schurrle for Fulham.

Mitrovic, who rivalled Armstrong as the game’s star performer, restored the hosts’ lead with a crisp volley after 63 minutes and Fulham held on to win 3-2 on Ranieri’s Premier League return.

The Cottagers were facing the prospect of a seven-match losing streak in the league for the first time in 56 years, but instead they won for a second time this season, following the August 26th defeat of Burnley, to move off the foot of the table.

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Southampton have not won since September 1st against Crystal Palace and Hughes, who had an 11-month stint at Craven Cottage in 2010-11, has just three wins in 21 league games since his appointment in March.

Everton climbed to sixth place in the Premier League table after battling to a 1-0 victory over Cardiff at Goodison Park.

The visitors made life difficult for the Toffees but Marco Silva’s side ultimately deserved the win given to them by Gylfi Sigurdsson’s 59th-minute goal, securing a fourth consecutive home success.

Jamie Vardy came off the bench to rescue a point for 10-man Leicester as they battled back to draw 1-1 at Brighton.

The forward was only deemed fit enough to be named as a substitute for the Foxes following a groin injury, but he fired home a second-half penalty to cancel out Glenn Murray’s early header and secure a 1-1 draw.

Leicester's hopes of taking anything away from the Amex Stadium took a hit when James Maddison was sent off inside the opening half-an-hour.

The midfielder was cautioned twice in two minutes, having overcome a knee problem to start for Claude Puel’s side, who have now had four dismissals in the league this season.

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