Burnley claim impressive 2-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage

The Clarets welcomed back Lyle Foster for this match after the striker took a month off to focus on his mental health.

The South African international was instrumental in the side's performance this afternoon, as he set up Wilson Odobert for Burnley's first goal before Sander Berge netted their second midway through the second half.

Rebecca Welch made history this afternoon at Craven Cottage as she became the first female to referee a Premier League match.

And she had her first big decision to make inside the first 10 minutes of the match when Tom Cairney went down in the opposition half in a promising position but she waved away the claims from the hosts.

Burnley certainly had the better of the opening quarter of an hour, passing the ball around tidily, though they never created much to test Bernd Leno in the Fulham goal.

However, at the opposite end, James Trafford had to come up with a couple of quick saves in succession from shots by Harry Wilson and Joao Palhinha as Fulham found their feet midway through the first half.

The intensity went up a notch from then on and it was turning into a very entertaining watch with both sides creating chances, but we were still level at the break.

However, it did not remain that way for much longer after the restart as Foster and Odobert linked up to good effect before the latter bent a superb shot beyond Leno to give his side the lead.

Fulham began to get back in the game as we reached the hour mark but it was their opponents that found the net in the 66th minute through Berge, who powered through the middle of the pitch and fired a low shot into the bottom corner.

Bobby Decordova-Reid almost found an instant response but blazed his shot over from just outside the area.

Mike Tresor then nearly teed Berge up for what would have been his second of the afternoon 10 minutes before the end but the Norwegian could not keep his shot down to the relief of Leno.

Fulham continued to try and break down the Burnley defence with little joy though they did manage one final big chance in the closing moments but Trafford was a brick wall this afternoon and kept his clean sheet intact.

A huge three points for Vincent Kompany's side who will take on Liverpool on Boxing Day, while Fulham will need to reset before their trip to the Vitality Stadium.