First there was Marco van Basten — now there is Pajtim Kasami. Simply put: what a goal.

The Swiss forward helped relieve the pressure on Fulham manager Martin Jol and heap it on Ian Holloway with a magnificent goal that echoed Van Basten’s famous volley against the Soviet Union in the final of Euro 88.

Kasami’s strike was the highlight of a breathtaking night of Fulham goals, Steve Sidwell and Philippe Senderos both scoring excellent volleys of their own as the visitors recorded their second straight win against struggling Palace.

Jol said: ‘Was it better than Van Basten’s goal? You can’t compare the two — Kasami’s is better.

‘Van Basten’s is the best volley in history but his was with just one touch, Kasami had to control the ball first and then hit it with his wrong foot. I’ve never seen him do anything like that before.’

Kasami added: ‘I’ve never scored a better goal than that. It was unbelievable.’

The victory was all the sweeter for Jol with owner Shahid Khan in attendance. What better way to prove you are worthy of keeping your job?

It was a different story for Holloway. He had a heated confrontation with Damien Delaney and Marouane Chamakh as the players left the field and then went into a crisis meeting with chairman Steve Parish.

Some fans even directed cries of ‘out, out, out’ towards the Palace manager, whose side remain second bottom of the Premier League.

It was a far cry from the bright start they made last night which was rewarded in the seventh minute when Adrian Mariappa nodded home Jason Puncheon’s cross.

Jol couldn’t quite believe his side’s start and — despite what would follow — he will no doubt question how 5ft 10in defender Mariappa beat 6ft 6in Brede Hangeland to the decisive header.

Palace looked comfortable after taking the lead, even threatening to score a second. But then Kasami entered the fray. Sascha Riether floated a hopeful ball forward into Kasami from the centre circle and Palace’s back four looked to have things under control as the Fulham forward controlled the ball with his chest on the right hand corner of the penalty area.

Mariappa, who was tracking Kasami’s run, was probably thinking to himself: ‘Go on shoot, then’. So Kasami did, unleashing a tremendous dipping volley over Julian Speroni to put Fulham level.

Jol jumped from his seat to salute the goal, as did sections of the home support who knew they’d just witnessed something special.

Thankfully, spectators — including Khan — in the executive boxes saw the goal as moments later they were forced to vacate Selhurst Park due to a fire alarm.

But they were back in their seats to see Sidwell score a truly sensational goal of his own on the stroke of half-time to put Fulham ahead.

Bryan Ruiz saw his free-kick blocked by the Palace wall but the rebound dropped invitingly to Sidwell, who smashed a brilliantly executed volley from 22 yards past the helpless Speroni.

You couldn’t blame Holloway if he was lost for words during his half-time team-talk. Palace might have deserved the lead but had been undone by two pieces of breathtaking brilliance.

Whatever Holloway said, it didn’t work as Fulham increased their advantage five minutes after the restart when Dimitar Berbatov nodded Ruiz’s corner past Speroni.

Then Senderos added to Palace’s misery in the 55th minute, sending an acrobatic close-range volley from another Ruiz corner through Speroni, despite the Argentine’s attempts to clear off the line.

Palace had been steamrollered. No wonder Khan was smiling. If this is what Premier League football is all about then the investment to buy Fulham from Mohamed Al Fayed looks a sound one. In contrast, the face on Palace chairman Parish’s face was anything but cheery as the game drew to a disappointing close.

Not even being flanked by Palace heroes Ian Wright and Mark Bright, who attended last night’s clash to commemorate the opening of the new ‘Wright and Bright Bar’ in Selhurst Park, could bring a smile to the millionaire businessman’s face.

Palace tried to work an opening as Holloway threw on veteran striker Kevin Phillips and Marouane Chamakh for some inspiration. But even the former England international could not spark the sort of recovery even the most optimistic of Palace supporters would have thought realistic.

Joel Ward sent a late strike over the bar as Palace tried to muster a response but by that time the game had gone and all that was left was for Speroni to deny Kasami a second wonder goal when he stretched to tip away a curling, left-foot effort from the Swiss striker.

How much time Holloway has left if poor results continue remains to be seen. But for now, Jol looks to have bought himself some time.