Coming into the contest with just two wins from their previous eight league matches, Fulham made a confident start, with Andreas Pereira seeing a curled free-kick palmed over the bar by Vicente Guaita.
The hosts gradually grew into the match after a slow opening 20 minutes, and nearly found the breakthrough when Michael Olise threaded a clever pass into the path of Jordan Ayew, who cannoned a powerful strike against the woodwork.
Fulham regained control of proceedings after the half-hour mark and took a deserved lead, as Aleksandar Mitrović’s pinpoint cross was brilliantly glanced into the far corner by Bobby Decordova-Reid for his fourth PL goal of the season.
Desperate for a swift response, Palace looked to up the ante before HT, but things soon got worse for the Eagles, with Tyrick Mitchell shown a straight red card for an ugly challenge on Kenny Tete.
Armed with the numerical advantage, the Cottagers emerged after the restart eager to extend their one-goal cushion, as Joao Palhinha fired a long-range strike narrowly over the bar.
Fulham continued to dominate proceedings before the hour-mark, and were given further encouragement when James Tomkins directed an elbow into the face of Mitrović, with the Palace man receiving a second booking in the process.
This gave Fulham plenty of space to exploit in the final 30 minutes, and the visitors duly doubled their lead in the 71st minute, when Mitrović’s downward header was rifled into the roof of the net by captain Tim Ream.
Having assisted both goals for his side, Mitrović added late gloss to the scoreline with a close-range header to cap off a perfect Boxing Day performance
