Fulham and Watford shared the points during an entertaining Premier League clash at Craven Cottage this afternoon.

The Hornets took the lead through Andre Gray after less than two minutes, but they failed to build on that advantage despite creating a number of chances in the first half, and they were eventually made to pay for their profligacy.

Aleksandar Mitrovic levelled things up for Fulham 13 minutes from time, and the in-form striker almost stole all three points for the hosts late on when he rattled the crossbar with a header.

Neither side could find a winner as the points were shared, though, leaving Fulham still 15th in the table while Watford stay fourth, level on points with champions Manchester City.

The visitors had won their opening four games of the season before seeing their perfect start ended by Manchester United last weekend, and it took them less than two minutes to break the deadlock in West London.

Fulham failed to deal with a throw-in from the left side which eventually allowed Will Hughes to sneak a pass through to Gray, who made no mistake with his finish past Marcus Bettinelli from close range.

Fulham almost responded 10 minutes later when Luciano Vietto burst past Daryl Janmaat before testing Ben Foster in the Watford goal and then firing a rebound wide of the target, but it was Watford who looked most like adding to the scoring for much of the first half.

Gray came close to doubling his personal tally after 17 minutes when he latched on to a loose header from Alfie Mawson, but Bettinelli was alert and came off his line to thwart the striker with a fine save.

The match continued to be played at a high tempo, but clear chances were more difficult to come by and a tame Abdoulaye Doucoure effort was the best either side could muster until the closing stages of the half.

Watford thought that they should have had a penalty 10 minutes before the interval, but referee Martin Atkinson waved away the claims after Hughes had been felled by Mawson inside the area.

Watford did almost grab a deserved second right on the stroke of half time, though, when Roberto Pereyra cut inside from the left flank before curling an effort towards goal, only to see it flash narrowly wide of the far post.

Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic was clearly unhappy with his side's performance against one of his former clubs and made two changes at the break, with Denis Odoi and Floyd Ayite replacing Mawson and Kevin McDonald.

The changes brought about an improvement from the Cottagers, and both Mitrovic and Vietto failed to hit the target with opportunities in quick succession during the early stages of the second half.

Watford did still present an occasional threat at the other end of the pitch, and Bettinelli was called into action on the hour mark when he got down to save Gray's angled effort.

Captain Troy Deeney almost doubled the advantage shortly afterwards when he went on a barraging run into the box before poking the ball towards goal, only to see it go wide of the target.

It was Fulham who got the all-important second goal, though, as Vietto beat Janmaat too easily inside the box before playing a low cross into the middle which Mitrovic flicked past Foster from close range for his fifth goal of the season.

The goal prompted a change from manager Javi Gracia as he replaced goalscorer Gray with Isaac Success, and the sub almost made a quick impact when his strike was saved by Bettinelli.

Deeney squandered a golden two-on-one chance inside the area moments later when he opted to try to find Success rather than go for goal himself, and that misjudgement almost came back to haunt the visitors as Fulham applied some late pressure to the Watford goal.

Mitrovic was the dangerman for the hosts, first cutting inside from the right channel and drawing a flying save from Foster with a goalbound curling effort.

The Serbian international then rose highest in the area to meet the resulting corner, but his firm header came back off the crossbar as Watford survived the late scare to hold on for a point.

Both clubs will now turn their attentions to London derbies in the EFL Cup, with Fulham taking on Millwall and Watford facing Tottenham Hotspur at the Stadium MK.

FULHAM (4-3-3): Bettinelli; Fosu-Mensah, Mawson (Odoi 46'), Chambers, Sessegnon; Johansen (Zamo Anguissa 64'), McDonald (Ayite 46'), Seri; Vietto, Mitrovic, Schurrle

WATFORD (4-4-2): Foster; Janmaat, Cathcart, Kabasele, Holebas; Hughes (Femenia 70'), Doucoure, Capoue, Pereyra (Sema 90'); Gray (Success 80'), Deeney