Everton delivered a major setback to Fulham’s European ambitions by coming from behind to claim victory at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon.
Goals from forward Beto and defender Michael Keane - netted within 90 seconds of one another - secured just a second win in 11 Premier League outings for the Toffees.
Fulham, hoping to stay in contention with Brentford and Brighton for a place in Europe, opened the scoring in the 17th minute as Mexico international Raul Jimenez nodded in Emile Smith Rowe’s perfect delivery.
Marco Silva’s men controlled much of the first half and nearly doubled their lead when Harry Wilson’s low strike was smartly stopped by England shot-stopper Jordan Pickford.
However, Everton levelled just before the interval, when Vitalii Mykolenko’s seemingly harmless shot took a deflection off Andreas Pereira and left goalkeeper Bernd Leno wrong-footed.
Against the flow of play, the visitors edged in front on 70 minutes, as Keane headed in from a corner delivered by substitute Dwight McNeil. The goal was awarded following a prolonged VAR review for a possible offside.
Almost immediately after play resumed, Everton struck again: Beto’s left-footed attempt slipping under Leno’s hand to earn the striker his eighth league goal of the campaign.
Fulham’s hopes of a dramatic late comeback were dashed in stoppage time when referee Darren England upheld his original decision not to award a penalty, even after a VAR review for a possible Mykolenko handball.
The loss leaves Fulham in 11th place, four points behind eighth-placed Brentford, while Everton move up to 13th.
