Crystal Palace brushed off the disappointment of their defeat against Everton as they beat Fulham 2-0 at Craven Cottage in the Premier League on Saturday.
Former Crystal Palace man Joachim Andersen was credited with an own goal near the end of the first half when he inadvertently turned in Will Hughes's corner.
Jean-Philippe Mateta thought he had given his side a two-goal lead 15 minutes into the second half, but the VAR intervened to rule his goal out for offside after Eberechi Eze audaciously back-heeled a pass behind the Cottagers' defence.
However, the Eagles did score their second fewer than 10 minutes later when they counter-attacked at pace, with Daniel Munoz fiercely striking into the net.
Fulham's defeat means they are ninth with 39 points, six points more than 13th-placed Crystal Palace have, though the hosts are only four points from the division's Conference League qualification spot.
SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT
© Imago
Marco Silva's Fulham have still performed brilliantly this campaign and qualifying for Europe remains a possibility, especially as just five points separate them from fourth-placed Manchester City.
After beating Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest in their prior two Premier League games, a loss against Palace should not diminish their performances of late.
As for the Eagles, they will almost certainly avoid relegation barring a spectacular collapse, and Oliver Glasner now has the room in which to focus on the FA Cup.
FULHAM VS. CRYSTAL PALACE HIGHLIGHTS
37th min: Fulham 0-1 Crystal Palace (Joachim Andersen own goal)
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Hughes swings in a corner with his left foot from the right side and aims towards the near post, but Fulham centre-back Andersen manages to turn the ball into his own net after the ball scraped down his back and past Bernd Leno.
Andersen gives his former side the lead!
58th min: Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace) disallowed goal
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Eze intelligently backheels a pass from just outside the box to Mateta, but though he converts past Leno, the VAR rules the goal out as the striker was offside.
Brilliant play from Eze!
61st min: Bernd Leno (Fulham) save
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Hughes swings another corner into the box and the ball finds Maxence Lacroix, who powers a header at Leno, but the Fulham goalkeeper denies the centre-back, and the Cottagers block a follow-up effort before possession goes out of play for another corner.
Fulham are struggling to deal with Lacroix!
66th min: Fulham 0-2 Crystal Palace (Daniel Munoz)
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Andreas Pereira attempts to strike from range, but Fulham are poorly set up to deal with Palace's counter-attack, and Mateta powers through the centre of the pitch before finding Munoz free inside the penalty area, and the Colombian shapes up to cross from the right but instead rifles a thunderous effort into the roof of the net from a tight angle.
What a strike!
MAN OF THE MATCH - EBERECHI EZE
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Eze did not register a goal or an assist, but his influence in the final third should not be understated, with the attacker having produced the most shots (4) and the most successful dribbles (4) of any player on the pitch.
The forward was also combative against Fulham given his tally of six ground duels won was the joint second most in that category of anybody on Saturday.
FULAHM VS. CRYSTAL PALACE MATCH STATS
Possession: Fulham 62%-38% Crystal Palace
Shots: Fulham 10-10 Crystal Palace
Shots on target: Fulham 0-5 Crystal Palace
Corners: Fulham 7-7 Crystal Palace
Fouls: Fulham 10-7 Crystal Palace
BEST STATS
𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐡𝐚𝐦 𝟎-𝟐 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) February 22, 2025
Crystal Palace have won four consecutive top-flight away games for the first time.
It's also the first time the they've ever won four consecutive away league games without conceding. pic.twitter.com/JaI5tgGIuf
WHAT NEXT?
The Cottagers are set to play Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday in the league before facing Manchester United at Old Trafford on March 2.
Palace will host Aston Villa in the Premier League on Tuesday and then take on Millwall in the FA Cup on March 1.
Lewis Nolan
