Four takeaways from Millwall’s 2-1 loss to Fulham – Arsenal loanee continues to make impressive strides in Championship

Fulham scored two goals in the first eight minutes as they beat Millwall 2-1 at The Den on Tuesday evening.

Here are Kai Bennett’s four takeaways from the Lions’ first Championship reverse of the 2021-22 campaign.

SLOW START COSTS MILLWALL

Aleksandar Mitrovic scored after just three minutes and Fabio Carvalho doubled the Cottagers lead after eight minutes which gave Millwall a massive mountain to climb.

The visitors pace and rapid breakaways meant that the Lions struggled to get players back to defend Fulham’s attacks.

DANIEL BALLARD SOLID

Despite Millwall conceding two goals, the Arsenal loanee once again showed his quality on and off the ball.

The 21-year-old’s excellent diagonal ball set up the Lions opener against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

Ballard dealt with Mitrovic well and when he got on the ball he showed his composure and strength as well as being very good aerially too.

BENIK AFOBE OFF THE MARK

Afobe scored a brace in Millwall’s 3-0 pre-season win against Ipswich Town, but before tonight was yet to score in the league this season.

Even though Afobe wouldn’t have known too much about his goal this evening, it would have given him a massive amount of confidence to see the ball hit the back of the net.

The 28-year-old will be key to the Lions’ attacking play this season and if he can score regularly it will give Millwall a crucial element that they have been missing in recent seasons.

RYAN LEONARD VERSATILITY 

Leonard played in numerous positions during the Lions’ 2020-21 campaign and showed he could do the same on Tuesday evening.

The 29-year-old started in the Lions midfield against Fulham, but was moved to right-back in the second-half to replace Mahlon Romeo, who was substituted for Matt Smith.

Leonard’s versatility will be crucial for Gary Rowett’s side this season.