Fulham win five-goal thriller at Stoke

Last updated on .From the section Championship

Championship leaders Fulham's amazing goalscoring feats were diluted as they were limited to just three goals to shade a thriller with Stoke City in the Potteries.

Stoke new boy Lewis Baker blasted the hosts level again from 30 yards. But, although Muniz might have missed out on a hat-trick when his header bounced off the bar, it fell to Bobby Decordova-Reid who connected superbly on the half-volley from 18 yards.

His 72nd-minute winner made it 22 goals in four league games since the turn of the year to take Fulham, who had hit seven, six and six in their previous three games, eight points clear of Bournemouth.

Fulham ended the day looking even more secure at the top of the league - and their 949 away fans in a 21,749 crowd optimistically chanting "Manchester City, we're coming for you".

But it was the Cottagers whose own defence was at sixes and sevens when Stoke got off to a sensational start, catching Fulham cold in their first attack in the very first minute.

Josh Tymon squared from the left and Wright-Phillips leapt to guide home a stunning near-post right-foot volley - before running off in the direction of the corner flag to celebrate acrobatically.

But, within 30 seconds, Fulham were level when Muniz, called up to replace absent top-scorer Aleksander Mitrovic, was allowed to turn 15 yards out and found the merest of gaps to lash home an equally stunning equaliser with his right foot into the top-right corner.

If the next half hour rather failed to match that start, so did Fulham's scrappy second.

Fulham opened up Stoke down the right but made a right mess of finishing it off as Carvalho's initial attempt eventually went in off Muniz, then the left upright.

Stoke then had to survive some dicey early second-half moments before drawing level on 58 minutes through Baker.

Newly arrived last week from Chelsea and included at the expense of Tom Ince, who had scored in Stoke's previous two games, Baker looked up 30 yards out, took aim and blasted home a right-foot screamer.

But Fulham had the greater share of good chances - and it was probably deserved when Muniz saw his header bounce back off the bar only for Decordova-Reid's beauty to settle it.

Even then Stoke could have snatched a draw when latest Potters signing Jaden Philogene-Bidace came off the bench late on, but the on-loan Aston Villa attacker's angled left-foot shot flew just over, possibly helped on its way by Fulham keeper Marek Rodak.

"We were a bit hard done by. We deserved more. Fulham shaded it in the first half but in the second half we were the better side. And the reaction to going behind was good. It was a brilliant goal by Lewis Baker and we had chances.

"We made a great start. It was a brilliant goal for the lad. D'Margio has come in and shown what he's capable of. All the young players at the club should take great heart from what he's done.

"But to concede straight after was disappointing. Maybe we could have done more to stop him getting the shot off. For the second goal we've got to do better when the ball drops in the middle of the pitch. And for their third there was a subtle foul on our keeper Jack Bonham."

"Some very good moments of football and I think we deserved the three points.

"It was a balanced game and Stoke had big moments too. But we showed we have the character to be top of this league.

"Stoke are a quality team and are always hard to beat. We expected it to be a tough one and they scored after 45 seconds but we reacted well."