Antoine Semenyo’s goal after just 53 seconds was enough for Bournemouth to beat Fulham and claim their first Premier League victory in almost two months.
The Cherries enjoyed a lightning-fast start at Vitality Stadium as Semenyo bent a cool finish past Bernd Leno after snatching possession from Antonee Robinson.
Evanilson should have doubled the hosts’ lead 15 minutes later, but the Brazilian smacked Alex Scott’s cutback off the crossbar from close range.
Fulham lacked a clinical edge, with Rodrigo Muniz, Ryan Sessegnon and Joachim Andersen all missing solid chances to grab a leveller before the break.
Despite charging forward and carving better opportunities in the second half, the visitors could not find a way past Kepa Arrizabalaga, who made two strong saves to deny Alex Iwobi and Sasa Lukic.
Bournemouth felt they should have been awarded a penalty with 10 minutes of normal time remaining when Leno appeared to bring down Evanilson.
However, referee Michael Oliver judged the German keeper to have got a hand to the ball and the video assistant referee backed up the decision.
The victory – Bournemouth’s first in the Premier League since 15 February – moves them level on points with Fulham, although Andoni Iraola’s side leapfrog the Cottagers into eighth thanks to a better goal difference.
Both sides remain in a congested battle for European football next season, with Chelsea and Aston Villa placed sixth and seventh, respectively, six points ahead with six games remaining.
Eighth place is likely to be enough for a Europa Conference League qualification spot, as long as League Cup champions Newcastle and the winners of the FA Cup finish in the top seven.
After enjoying an impressive first half of the season, Bournemouth seemed to have suffered a drop in both confidence and momentum in recent months.
The Cherries were winless in their previous six league matches, while their one chance of a trophy was ended by Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Having scored the first goal in three of their past four games and come away winless, Bournemouth’s fans knew all to well that Semenyo’s early opener was not a guarantee of all three points.
But, despite having just 31% possession after half-time and facing a barrage of Fulham attacks, Iraola’s men stood firm – much to the delight of the home crowd.
Arrizabalaga, who has previously faced criticism for mistakes, was called into action with a brilliant diving save to stop Iwobi’s curling effort.
Meanwhile, Dean Huijsen – playing on his 20th birthday – shrugged off Raul Jimenez with a strong challenge in front of Bournemouth’s goal in the dying minutes.
With Fulham their closest rivals in the table, and tough fixtures against Arsenal, Aston Villa and Manchester City on the horizon, these three points were crucial to keep Bournemouth’s European dreams alive.
Fulham falter in race for Europe
After the highs of beating runaway leaders Liverpool in their last outing, Fulham looked stunned as they found themselves a goal down after less than a minute.
Marco Silva’s side slowly settled into the game, but they were ultimately punished for not putting away the few chances they had.
Weak headed efforts from Sessegnon and Andersen were saved comfortably by Arrizabalaga, while Muniz let Marcos Senesi and Huijsen off the hook when he failed to capitalise on miscommunication between the pair.
Muniz – looking to score in a fourth successive Premier League game – snatched the ball as the centre-backs deliberated over a simple pass before darting into the box and sweeping his strike wide.
Fulham felt Senesi should have been shown a red card when he caught Anderson with a studs-up challenge just before the break, but a quick VAR review backed up Oliver’s on-field decision to brandish only a yellow.
While the visitors improved after half-time, their chances were largely limited to edge-of-the-box strikes – and Leno was needed to stop Bournemouth from pulling out of reach with two fine saves to deny Alex Scott and Tyler Adams.
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