Patrick Vieira must be wondering how he got this so wrong. Crystal Palace’s hopes of recording a fourth successive home victory in the Premier League for the first time in their history were destroyed within three minutes at the end of the first half by a clinical Fulham team led by the brilliant Aleksandar Mitrovic. Disastrous defending which allowed Bobby De Cordova-Reid to open the scoring was compounded by Tyrick Mitchell’s rush of blood that earned him a straight red card and left Vieira’s side with a mountain to climb. Another red card for James Tomkins – making his first Premier League start since Boxing Day last year in the absence of the suspended Marc Guéhi – plus goals from Tim Ream – the captain’s first in the Premier League – and Mitrovic’s 10th of the campaign, earned a deserved victory for Marco Silva’s side. That means they already need only two more wins to match their points tally from two seasons ago. “We had a plan and the players stuck to the plan,” said Silva. “Their home record is very strong but we were the best team on the pitch and showed the maturity we needed.” Both teams went into the World Cup break having to stew on disappointing defeats, with Palace starting the day behind their visitors only on goal difference having played a game fewer. With the home support starved of competitive action since a win over Southampton here nearly two months ago, Palace were given a hearty welcome as they emerged to Insomnia, by Faithless, in a tribute to Palace’s former associate director Maxi Jazz, who died on Saturday. Silva admitted beforehand that Mitrovic had still not fully recovered from the foot injury that caused him to miss Fulham’s last two matches before the World Cup despite then going on to play all three of Serbia’s games in Qatar. Yet such is his importance to this side that it was no surprise to see him playing a starring role as they recorded a first win since winning at Leeds in October. Almost as much as Mitrovic, Andreas Pereira was the driving force behind Fulham’s excellent start to the season and his dipping free-kick from long range forced Vicente Guaita into early action. With Eberechi Eze stuck out in an unfamiliar position on the left flank, Harrison Reed and the outstanding João Palhinha were able to dominate the early midfield exchanges. Meanwhile, an isolated Wilfried Zaha was left to feed off the few scraps that came his way up front. A mazy dribble from the elusive Michael Olise midway through the half finally injected some urgency into the home side but Jordan Ayew saw his shot strike the bar. Mitrovic looked aghast when the referee, Andy Madley, ruled against him after a tussle with Nathaniel Clyne but less than a minute later it was his inviting pinpoint cross that allowed De Cordova-Reid to give Fulham the lead with a glancing header. The Palace supporters barely had time to digest that bad news when more arrived in the form of Mitchell’s dismissal. Having miscontrolled the ball with his chest, the England defender caught Kenny Tete high up on a shin and left Madley with no other option. Mitchell headed down the tunnel with his shirt over his head. Vieira looked less than impressed as Palace left the pitch at half-time and they emerged for the second half no doubt with their manager’s words still ringing in their ears. But any hopes of a comeback appeared to be over when Tomkins was sent off after being shown a second yellow card for blocking a Mitrovic run with his shoulder. It was a decision that incensed Vieira and the home supporters, who must have sensed this was not going to be their day. “From the first minute Fulham were the better team. In the end we got what we deserved,” admitted a despondent Vieira. Palace’s fate was sealed when Ream lashed home from close range after Mitrovic was first to another corner. Replays showed the Serb was pulling Joel Ward’s shirt in the box and the ball struck his hand but Madley ruled that it was still a goal after being sent to review the incident by VAR. Having already hit a post, Pereira could have made it an even more forgettable occasion for Palace had Guaita not come to the rescue. But it was Mitrovic who was to have the final say as he glanced home Willian’s cross to round off the perfect afternoon for Fulham.