Everton scored two goals in three minutes to dent Fulham’s European qualification hopes with a 3-1 win at Craven Cottage.
Raul Jimenez opened the scoring for the Cottagers but they failed to capitalise on their lead and Vitalii Mykolenko levelled in first-half stoppage time.
Michael Keane’s header put Everton in front and a mistake from Bernd Leno allowed Beto to add a quickfire third on a day where Brighton and Brentford, who are battling with Fulham for Conference League places, both took three points.
Victory for David Moyes’ men was their first since beating Nottingham Forest 1-0 on April 12.
Just two weeks after his crucial goal in Fulham’s fightback at Southampton, Emile Smith Rowe looked full of confidence as he set up the home side’s opener after 17 minutes.
He went on a slaloming run down the left and chipped a cross into the penalty area where striker Jimenez rose highest to power a header into the bottom-left corner.
It was all Fulham in the first half but manager Marco Silva, who was serving a touchline ban, would have wanted his men to learn from previous mistakes by converting more chances in order to avoid late heartbreak.
Former Toffees forward Alex Iwobi was at the heart of Fulham’s best chances. His most notable chance in the 39th minute saw him attempt a curling effort from the edge of the area which did not have enough bend and a rooted Jordan Pickford was happy to see it go past a post.
After allowing Jimenez to beat him in the air for the opener, Mykolenko made up for his earlier mishap to level in first-half time added on.
A corner saw the ball roll out to the left-back on the edge of the box, with his first-time shot deflecting off Andreas Pereira and wrong-footing Leno as the ball trickled into the net.
Everton posed a set-piece threat due to their size and made Fulham rue their missed chances as they took the lead with a second goal from a corner in the 70th minute.
Substitute Dwight McNeil’s whipped delivery was met by defender Keane at the back post and he nodded in what could well be his final Everton goal with his contract expiring in the summer.
The goal stood after a lengthy VAR review for a potential offside and it was not long before the Toffees grabbed a third to stun Craven Cottage.
Beto was played through and Fulham keeper Leno made a rare mistake as he allowed the striker’s side-foot shot to squirm under him and into the net.
Fulham were denied a late penalty for handball by VAR in second-half stoppage time as Everton held on for three points.
Both Wycombe head coach Mike Dodds and Charlton manager Nathan Jones were complimentary of each other’s side following a goalless draw in the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final.In a game of few chances at Adams Park, Dan Udoh went the closest for the Chairboys after just five minutes, when his low fizzing shot was awkwardly saved by Will Mannion.For the visitors, Matty Godden ...
Wycombe and Charlton could not be separated as they played out a goalless draw in the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final at Adams Park.Despite Mike Dodds’ Chairboys being the out-of-form side out of all of the teams involved in the play-offs, they were superb in the opening 45 minutes.Jack Grimmer and Fred Onyedinma worked brilliantly down the right-hand side to cause the Addi...
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressed his anger after his side were forced to battle back from 2-0 down to claim a draw at Liverpool on Sunday.The Gunners paid the price for a lacklustre start as they conceded twice in quick succession early on to the newly-crowned Premier League champions at Anfield.They battled back to draw 2-2 with goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Merino – who was...
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has no concerns about continuing to pick Trent Alexander-Arnold despite the defender being booed by his own fans in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal.The right-back was targeted by a significant section of the Anfield crowd when he came on as a substitute after confirming on Monday he will not be extending his current deal with the newly-crowned Premier League champions when...
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis insists he is “proud” of Nuno Espirito Santo despite storming onto the pitch to confront the manager after watching his side fumble Champions League qualification.Marinakis was seen emotionally remonstrating with Nuno after Facundo Buonanotte’s 81st-minute strike earned Leicester a 2-2 Premier League draw at the City Ground, inflicting ...
Head coach Mat Sadler praised Walsall’s “fighting performance” after they secured a 2-0 win at Chesterfield in the first leg of their League Two play-off semi-final.Both goals came in the first half, with Taylor Allen scoring from the spot and Alfie Chang doubling the advantage.Sadler said: “I thought we played well. I thought we started a little bit edgily and then grew in...
Liverpool fans booed Trent Alexander-Arnold as Arsenal hit back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Anfield.Substitute Alexander-Arnold was heckled, six days after announcing he was leaving the Reds when his contract expires in the summer.Following an uncomfortable guard of honour for the visitors, first-half goals from Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz had Arne Slot’s side on top before Gabriel Marti...
Ruben Amorim cast doubt over his future should “brave” summer moves fail after Manchester United’s “embarrassed” head coach raged about a lack of urgency and big club mentality.The Red Devils returned to earth with a bump three days after reaching the Europa League final as fellow strugglers West Ham secured their first Premier League win at Old Trafford since 2007.To...
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo defended Evangelos Marinakis after the owner stormed on to the pitch having watched his side fumble Champions League qualification.Marinakis was seen emotionally remonstrating with Nuno after Facundo Buonanotte’s 81st-minute strike earned Leicester a 2-2 Premier League draw at the City Ground, inflicting a damaging blow to Forest’s hopes of fi...
Ange Postecoglou allayed fears of a potential injury for Dejan Kulusevski before the Europa League final, but criticised his much-changed Tottenham team following a record-breaking Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace.Eberechi Eze struck twice for the FA Cup finalists either side of half-time to bring Spurs back down to earth with a 2-0 home reverse after Thursday’s euphoric scenes in Nor...
- 1 Joe Garner bags brace as Oldham go into play-offs with win over downed Ebbsfleet
- 2 Albanian Laura Woods goes braless in pink top
- 3 Man Utd are losing the feeling of being a massive club – Ruben Amorim
- 4 Eddie Howe tells Newcastle to ‘drive forward’ and seal Champions League spot
- 5 Daily Laugh - Bye Arsenal, PSG to UCL Final
- 6 Ruben Amorim believes fighting spirit carried Man Utd to Europa League final
- 7 Rangers thump Aberdeen to end five-match winless streak at Ibrox
- 8 Onana ready to fight for his place
- 9 Liverpool want Julian Alvarez to replace Nunez
- 10 ‘Hard worker’ Ollie Watkins praised by Unai Emery after scoring at Bournemouth