Fulham had three quarters of the ball and still lost to Palace

Fulham held the ball for most of the night at Craven Cottage, but a Eddie Nketiah goal settled the League Cup tie in Crystal Palace's favour.

Fulham had 74% of the ball at Craven Cottage and still left empty-handed, beaten 1-0 by Crystal Palace in the League Cup. Possession is simply the share of time a side has the ball, and this was a lopsided split. Fulham completed 715 accurate passes to Palace's 207, yet the only goal arrived at the other end.

The home side also created the better openings in terms of volume. Fulham took 14 shots, against a league average of 13.4 per side, and 11 of them came from inside the box. Their expected goals figure, a rough measure of chance quality based on where and how a shot is taken, was 1.5, close to the league average of 1.49. So Fulham did not simply shoot more; they got into genuinely useful positions.

Palace needed far less to win. They managed four shots, and their expected goals total was 0.58, well below Fulham's. Their single goal came in the 37th minute, when Nketiah finished a move that Oscar Mingueza had started, and it was the kind of chance that a defence can hardly prevent once it has been released. Dean Henderson made four saves in the Palace goal, and it was his work that kept the margin where it stayed.

The scoreline is quiet by the standards of this league. Matches in it average 3.1 goals, and this one produced only the single strike, which is less than a third of the usual tally. Neither side was reckless, and Palace were happy to sit off and wait for their moment, which is a sensible plan when you have so little of the ball.

Fulham made their changes in the hour, with Cesar Palacios Perez, Hugo Larsson and Kenny Tete all coming on together at 58 minutes. Oscar Bobb arrived late, at 82, and still managed five key passes, the kind that split a defence open, in the time he had. Palace's own changes came at 61 and 71 minutes, and Nketiah, who scored, went off at 71.

Benjamin Lecomte, in the Fulham goal, made two saves and held his line well, but the afternoon's real contrast was in the finishing. Palace turned a small number of chances into a win, while Fulham could not convert their volume into anything on the scoreboard. Palace also had two players booked, Jefferson Lerma and Evann Guessand, and Fulham had Sander Berge carded early in the first half.

The result leaves Palace with one win from their last six matches, alongside two draws and three defeats. Fulham's last six show three wins, two draws and one defeat. Both sides now have a League Cup tie behind them with a single goal to show for ninety minutes of football.

Player of the matchD. Henderson4 saves7.6

E. Nketiah1 goal7.4

Óscar Mingueza1 assist7.4

S. Berge1 chance created7.2