After a difficult opening couple of games under their respective new managers, Fulham and Palace knew the importance of a fast start in West London.
It was Álvaro Arbeloa’s men who came flying out of the blocks, and their early pressure was rewarded in the 11th minute when Josh King’s low strike in the box took a fortuitous deflection and looped over the dive of Dean Henderson.
Undeterred, the visitors nearly restored parity just three minutes later, only for Daichi Kamada’s clinical finish to be ruled out for a marginal offside.
Having scored at least twice on seven of their last eight visits to Craven Cottage, Palace remained a threat in the final third, as Chris Richards’ strike from the edge of the box drew a smart save from Bernd Leno.
Fulham went close themselves shortly after, with Timothy Castagne seeing a first-time effort expertly thwarted by Henderson. That save proved to be crucial, as the visitors equalised in the 35th minute through Tyrick Mitchell, who drilled a powerful strike beyond Leno at the near post.
The Cottagers restored their lead before HT, with César Palacios converting a rebound for his first PL goal after Gonzalo García’s initial effort had been repelled by Henderson.
Fulham carried their momentum into the early stages of the second period, and Palacios spurned a glorious chance to net his second of the afternoon, firing narrowly wide from close range.
Grateful for that reprieve, Palace drew level for the second time in the 54th minute, as a lucky deflection off Mitchell dribbled over the line to send the away support into raptures.
Both sides continued to threaten with time ticking into the final half-hour, with Henderson standing firm in the visitors’ goal to deny Oscar Bobb.
Determined to secure a first win of the season, Pierre Sage introduced Will Hughes and Ben Chilwell for the final 15 minutes, and the latter had an immediate impact for the Eagles, volleying home a loose ball in the box to score his first goal since May 2025.
That proved to be the decisive moment, as despite late chances for Rodrigo Muniz and Ryan Sessegnon, the visitors held firm to seal victory, meaning Fulham have opened a top-flight season with three successive defeats for just the third time in their history.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Tyrick Mitchell (Crystal Palace)