Carlos Vinicius came off the bench to score the only goal in Fulham's Premier League clash with Luton Town at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon.

The forward registered in the 65th minute of the contest, with the three points moving Marco Silva's side onto seven points from five matches, leaving them in ninth position in the table.

Luton, meanwhile, remain bottom of the division, having lost all four of their league games at the start of the 2023-24 campaign.

Fulham fans paid tribute to former owner Mohamed Al-Fayed ahead of kickoff, with every home supporter given a scarf in the team's first home game since his death.

Luton had the first half-chance of the match in the fifth minute, with Tahith Chong breaking into a dangerous position, but the attacker's strike was always comfortable for Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

The Cottagers were the side in control of the possession as the first half developed, but Luton were proving to be a tough nut to crack.

Fulham's first real chance of the match arrived in the 21st minute when Kenny Tete made contact on a dangerous corner, but his header was just over the crossbar.

Luton had two chances of their own on the counter-attack in the spell that followed, with Carlton Morris firing wide of the post before Jacob Brown headed onto the post.

The away side's goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski was booked for time-wasting in the 36th minute of the contest, which is an indication of how the match developed at Craven Cottage.

Joao Palhinha, who recently signed a new contract at Fulham, headed over the Luton crossbar early in the second period, before Timothy Castagne had a shot blocked from distance.

Finally, the breakthrough arrived in the 65th minute, with Vinicius, who had only entered the field three minutes before in place of Raul Jimenez, converting from close range after a Willian cross had been palmed into him by the Luton goalkeeper.

Alex Iwobi had a half-chance in the final five minutes, with the midfielder turning inside the Luton box before releasing a strike, but the ball was always rising over the crossbar.

Luton had a chance to level late on through Tom Lockyer, but his header went towards the corner flag, allowing the home side to claim an important three points.

Fulham will be back in action against Crystal Palace next Saturday, while Luton will resume their campaign at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on the same afternoon. body check tags ::