Fulham suffered back-to-back defeats on Tuesday night as they were beaten 2-1 by Preston North End at Deepdale.

Sean Maguire fired the hosts in front inside 30 minutes when Fulham failed to clear a corner before Scott Parker's side were reduced to ten men.

Patrick Bauer was clattered to the floor by Denis Odoi and the full-back was shown a straight red, although Preston levelled things on that front soon after thanks to Joe Rafferty shocking challenge on Joe Bryan.

David Nugent notched the second for Alex Neil's side after half-time before Aleksandar Mitrovic pulled one back, but it was not to be enough for the South West Londoners.

Here, we take a look at THREE things we clearly learned about the Whites...

Defensive shortcomings

It is clear where the major shortcoming was for the Whites on Tuesday night and that was in defence.

Denis Odoi's ridiculous red card was merely a perfect illustration of what was a close to disastrous night at the back for Scott Parker's side.

There seemed to be not communication between Tim Ream and Alfie Mawson, with the latter performing weakly for both the Preston goals. First failing to close down Maguire before being outmuscled by Nugent.

The arrival of Michael Hector, a proper defensive leader, cannot come soon enough.

Knockaert underwhelms

The Frenchman was supposed to be one of the signings of the summer in the second tier when he arrived but his form has dipped worryingly in recent weeks.

More often than not, his end product is non-existent. Whilst he still shows some slick touches, when it comes to taking the shot or playing the crucial pass or cross, his composure seems to evaporate.

It should have maybe been he who made way following Odoi's red card rather than Cavaleiro.

Quiz: Can you name the ex-Fulham player based on their goalscoring record?

Tactics all wrong

Parker certainly is not free from blame.

Going into this match, Preston had lost their last four matches in a row and failed to score in three of them. They would not have been a team high on confidence.

Fulham should have been on them from the get go, flexing their considerable attacking muscles.

However, the side lacked intensity. Even with the key absentees within his side, Parker should have been able to conjure a more convincing display.

It is not a game that will win him any new fans.