Fulham’s €23 million man earns praise for start to life in the Premier League

MARCO SILVA has hailed new father Joao Palhinha for settling straight into the rhythm of the Premier League at Fulham.

Summer recruit Palhinha headed home from a well-crafted corner in Fulham’s 3-2 derby win over Brentford at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

The £20m (€23m) transfer from Sporting Lisbon toasted his goal with a celebration that marked a week that also saw the birth of his child.

Palhinha stuck his thumb in his mouth and the ball in his shirt before being mobbed by his enthusiastic team-mates in south-west London.

And Whites boss Silva admitted the 27-year-old has adjusted quickly to life in London and the Premier League.

“His wife had a baby this week and everyone is happy for him and his family,” said Silva.

“It’s important for him to feel that support from us, but it’s also important that he’s settled in really well with our team and club.

“When we signed him we knew he would be an asset to us and our squad. on the ball, next to the ball, also standard situations.

“And to see him score and play so well is great.

“It’s good to see the players taking something positive from what we’ve spent a lot of the week on.”

Aleksandar Mitrovic’s last-minute header gave Fulham their first win of the new season.

The hosts stormed to a 2-0 lead through Bobby Decordova-Reid and Palhinha but Brentford fought back to equalize in the second half.

Christian Norgaard volleyed home to close the gap before Ivan Toney scored to make it 2-2.

Toney saw two lovely finishes ruled offside and gave a grateful Fulham great reprieve who were then able to steal all three points.

Striker Toney was a constant threat for Brentford after the Bees burst into life after a quiet first half-hour.

Boss Thomas Frank praised Toney for showing his full dangerous repertoire in front of goal.

“The two unrecognized goals, these shots, that’s fantastic,” said Frank.

“The way he collected the ball, the calm in the finish, that’s at a very high level.

“It’s fantastic to see and our attacking play in general, I’m very happy with that too.

“I’ll keep pushing us in that direction because I think this season we’re already seeing the importance of scoring a lot of goals to secure wins.”