DANGO OUATTARA’S STOPPAGE-TIME strike earned Bournemouth a dramatic 3-2 win at Tottenham to further dent the hosts’ top-four hopes.
A wild game ended the way of Gary O’Neil’s visitors after goals by Matias Vina and Dominic Solanke were added to by substitute Ouattara to earn the Cherries some revenge after they suffered late pain in the reverse fixture in October.
It capped a disastrous afternoon for Spurs’ acting head coach Cristian Stellini, who hooked substitute Davinson Sanchez after a poor 23-minute cameo and saw his gung-ho tactics – where six attackers were on the pitch for the final exchanges – cost his team.
Tottenham remain in fifth but have Aston Villa breathing down their neck and have a critical three-game week against top-four rivals Newcastle and Manchester United coming up with confidence again low while chairman Daniel Levy faced more chants during this 10th defeat of the league season.
Kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes after Bournemouth arrived late due to traffic and while Spurs were waiting for their opponents to turn up, top-four rivals Newcastle suffered a damaging 3-0 loss at Villa.
Tottenham started impressively in pursuit of drawing level with the Magpies and Dejan Kulusevski had three early efforts.
Ivan Perisic also looked a threat from the off, which made it no surprise when the Croatian claimed his 11th assist of the season.
Clement Lenglet produced a superb ball over the top of the away defence and Perisic raced through before he cut back for Heung-min Son to fire home.
It continued Son’s gradual return to form with this his third goal from his last five matches after a largely poor campaign by his usual high standards.
While Ryan Christie blazed over from a good position for the Cherries soon after, Tottenham and in particular Son looked in the mood after his 14th-minute opener.
A flurry of step-overs from Son fooled Chris Mepham but Neto produced an outstanding finger-tip save to deny the forward a second.
The South Korean turned creator moments later when he played in Harry Kane, who could only fire straight at Bournemouth’s captain Neto.
Yet as has often been the case this term, Spurs were unable to sustain their momentum and slowly O’Neil’s relegation-threatened side gained a foothold in the contest.
Marcus Tavernier forced Hugo Lloris into a decent save before Tottenham lost defender Lenglet to a muscle injury.
Stellini reacted by introducing Sanchez but made another altercation to his back-three with Cristian Romero moved over to left centre-back and Bournemouth made the most of an unsettled home defence.
Pedro Porro was robbed by Vina outside Spurs’ penalty area and Solanke sent the full debutant through on goal where he expertly lobbed over the onrushing Lloris in the 38th minute.
It was a fine finish by a player who had played a grand total of 17 minutes prior to this full debut since he joined on loan from Roma in January.
Bournemouth were forced into their own change soon after half-time with goalscorer Vina withdrawn with a back injury but they were celebrating a second goal with 51 minutes played.
Sanchez was involved for all the wrong reasons with Tavernier able to turn the centre-back inside out and while the Spurs substitute got his toe to the ball, it only knocked it perfectly into Solanke’s path who chipped past Lloris.
Tottenham fans booed Sanchez’ next touch and Stellini realised he had to act with the Colombian’s 23-minute cameo soon brought to an end.
Danjuma earned a rare opportunity against his former club as a result and quickly tested Neto.
Kane sent a header wide from a Porro cross with 20 minutes left and Stellini further rolled the dice with Richarlison introduced with Spurs now in a hybrid formation that had six attackers on the pitch.
When Porro blazed over wildly, chants of ‘we want Levy out’ occurred from the South Stand as the seconds ticked away.
An offside call denied Richarlison his first league goal soon after before Danjuma appeared to have rescued Tottenham a point with a fine low effort two minutes from time.
Spurs were hit by a sucker-punch when trying to find a winner when O’Neil’s side broke and Solanke teed up Ouattara, who cut inside and curled home to spark wild celebrations from the away dug-out.
Chelsea 1-2 Brighton
Chelsea slumped to a third consecutive defeat under Frank Lampard as Brighton produced a superb display at Stamford Bridge to enhance their credentials as European contenders.
Substitute Julio Enciso hit the winner 20 minutes from time with a magnificent 30-yard rocket into the top corner, completing a stunning turnaround after Danny Welbeck’s header had cancelled out Conor Gallagher’s deflected opener for the hosts.
Welbeck replaced Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson on 38 minutes, the 18-year-old withdrawn with an apparent ankle injury which will be a concern to both his club manager Roberto Di Zerbi and his national-team boss Stephen Kenny. Ferguson had been outstanding, and came close to opening the scoring only to rattle the bar at The Bridge.
Even on their recent poor run, Chelsea have rarely been so outclassed. Brighton were brilliant, their range of passing and intelligence with the ball making a mockery of the £500million spent by Todd Boehly to try and propel Chelsea up the league. On this showing, only one of these teams belonged in Europe next season.
The early chances fell to Brighton. First, Karou Mitoma burst past Trevor Chalobah down the left and cut back for Alexis Mac Allister who shot wide, then Ferguson took the ball on his left foot, checked inside and with his right smacked a shot against Kepa Arrizabalaga’s crossbar.
Minutes later, Chelsea led. Mykhailo Mudryk took possession on the left and drove infield. Feinting to play the ball wide, he slid a clever reverse ball inside to Gallagher, who strode onto it and hit a shot that deflected off Lewis Dunk and in.
Brighton, undeterred, simply went about their work. Pervis Estupinan went on a determined run down Chelsea’s left and fed the ball inside for Solly March to try his luck from range, the winger’s effort whizzing inches over.
Then Mitoma gave a reminder of his ever-rising stock by dancing through the defence and drawing an outstanding one-handed save from Arrizabalaga.
There were further chances for Mitoma and Mac Allister as the visitors slowly took control of possession and of the game, though both missed the target from promising positions.
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Chelsea resorted to playing on the counter, looking to release the lively Mudryk where they could.
Soon Brighton were in total charge, and after 30 minutes they went close again.
Ferguson took the ball from a throw-in and fed substitute Enciso, on for the injured Joel Veltman. He slipped his man and crossed for Ferguson who, having continued his run, placed a header towards the corner, only for Arrizabalaga to fling himself into another superb save to turn it over the bar.
Ferguson, who had been excellent, injured himself in the process and was replaced by Welbeck.
For Brighton it proved a blessing in disguise. They equalised within minutes. The ball was worked out wide to Pascal Gross who looked up to see Welbeck peeling away at the far post. The cross was inch-perfect, and as two Chelsea defenders rose neither could beat Welbeck to the ball and stop him heading Brighton level.
Christian Pulisic hit the post in added time at the end of the half on a rare Chelsea break. Otherwise Brighton’s control of the match by half-time was total.
The second period started in the same vein. Mitoma again tormented Chelsea down the left, and slipped in Enciso who almost gave Brighton the lead but for Arrizabalaga’s block.
Chelsea needed a change. Lampard responded by making four at once, seeking to swing the balance back his team’s way.
If anything, it destabilised them further. On the hour mark Enciso dropped a hint of what was to come, outmuscling Chalobah and substitute Reece James and striking the post.
Then came his moment. There seemed little on when he collected March’s square ball 30 yards out. Chelsea gave him space, failing to take the threat seriously and Enciso made them pay in spectacular fashion.
Everton 1-3 Fulham
Fulham ended an alarming run of Premier League defeats as Marco Silva claimed his first win against Everton to land a blow on his former employers in their attempt to avoid the drop.
Harrison Reed put the Cottagers ahead midway through the first half but Everton hit back through Dwight McNeil and seemed the likeliest to score again before half-time at Goodison Park.
But the momentum swung back towards Fulham when Harry Wilson put them back ahead just after the break before Dan James sealed a 3-1 victory – snapping a sequence of five-successive losses.
With Fulham in the ascendancy, Everton became increasingly disjointed and were booed off at the full-time whistle after squandering the chance to put daylight between themselves and the Premier League relegation zone as they remain above the bottom three on goal difference alone.
This will be especially frustrating for Sean Dyche, whose side have a much better record at home than away – they have only triumphed once on the road this season – but there are no such worries for his opposite number Silva, who managed Everton from May 2018 to December 2019.
Fulham remain in 10th place but have now passed the 40-point barrier and this win could reignite their hopes of pushing for Europe next season.
Both sides struggled for fluency in a cagey opening but spaces gradually opened up with Demarai Gray and Wilson both having tame efforts saved by Bernd Leno and Jordan Pickford respectively.
Fulham were starting to get on top as Andreas Pereira shot wide before the deadlock was broken in the 22nd minute, with Reed slotting beyond Pickford after Everton were left scrambling when Wilson’s curling effort thudded against a post.
As Everton are the lowest scorers in the division, Reed’s strike might have been decisive but the hosts rallied, thanks in part to transitioning from 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 formation as McNeil and Gray began to operate higher up the pitch to support Neal Maupay as Alex Iwobi dropped back into midfield.
Maupay could have opened his account but his point-blank header was straight at Leno and then James Tarkowski wastefully blazed the rebound over before Everton got a deserved equaliser after 35 minutes.
A dithering Joao Palhinha was dispossessed in his own half, allowing the hosts to break as James Garner freed McNeil, who turned and unfurled a fine left-footed shot from 20 yards past an outstretched Leno.
With confidence seemingly restored by the leveller, Everton remained on top but they could not find another way through before the break as Maupay was once again denied by Leno after a one-two by McNeil, whose teasing cross from the right evaded everyone in the box and drifted narrowly wide.
Another McNeil cross to the near post after half-time caught Leno off guard, cannoning into the Fulham goalkeeper’s near post, before the visitors restored their lead in the 51st minute.
Kenny Tete’s cross to the back post was cushioned back by Willian into the path of Wilson, who coolly side-footed the ball into the net.
The visitors had a couple of chances to move even further ahead as Pickford saved from Pereira, who then saw an effort deflected over with Everton increasingly penned back into their own half.
Some slack defending led to Fulham’s third in the 68th minute, with a free-kick over the top catching Everton on their heels although James still did brilliantly to bring the ball down before firing across Pickford.
James might have deepened the misery late on as his effort from an acute angle just missed the target, with the Toffees again caught napping, but it mattered little to the result as Fulham coasted to the three points.
Southampton 0-2 Crystal Palace
Eberechi Eze bagged a brace as Crystal Palace continued their resurgence under Roy Hodgson with a 2-0 win which deepens Southampton’s Premier League relegation concerns.
Eze struck twice in 14 second-half minutes at St Mary’s to earn the Eagles a third consecutive success since former England boss Hodgson returned to Selhurst Park just under four weeks ago.
Bottom club Southampton enjoyed plenty of the ball but were largely toothless in attack as they slipped to a club-record 20th defeat in a 38-game top-flight campaign.
Saints midfielder Carlos Alcaraz came close to halving the deficit as he curled against the inside of the left post before the Eagles cruised to victory to take another significant step towards securing their own survival.
Ruben Selles’ hosts have picked up just two points from the last 18 available, with a drop into the Sky Bet Championship at the end of a miserable season featuring three managers beginning to look inevitable going into their final seven games.
Palace travelled to Hampshire buoyed by their recent upturn in form following the sacking of Patrick Vieira, while Southampton began the day in serious trouble and with time running out.
Saints boss Selles insisted this week his players possess the fight for a relegation scrap.
The Spaniard watched the recalled Joe Aribo blaze over the best chance of a cagey opening quarter following a well-worked corner routine, before Palace midfielder Michael Olise had an effort ruled out for a clear offside having burst through to round home goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.
Southampton forward Theo Walcott, who assisted Aribo’s attempt, later fired into the side-netting after being slipped in by Kamaldeen Sulemana.
Frustration began to grow around the ground as Saints patiently probed for an opener against a solid away side searching for opportunities to counter.
The Eagles, unchanged from last weekend’s 5-1 thrashing of Leeds, failed to register an attempt on target in a forgettable first half.
That statistic persisted until the 54th minute when the visitors edged in front.
Jordan Ayew’s powerful cross from the left was pushed away by Bazunu, leaving Eze with a simple, side-foot volley into the unguarded net.
Palace were far more threatening in attack during the second half of last weekend’s emphatic win in West Yorkshire and that trend continued on the south coast.
Eze, who was on target at Elland Road six days ago, doubled his side’s lead in the 68th minute by turning away from Moussa Djenepo and Romeo Lavia to arrow a low strike into the bottom-left corner from distance.
Southampton were initially stunned by the quick-fire double.
The hosts almost gave their opponents something to think about when Argentinian Alcaraz was unlucky to be denied by the woodwork from the edge of the box in the 72nd minute before he volleyed over from close range moments later.
Saints defender Armel Bella-Kotchap then forced Palace keeper Sam Johnstone into a fine stop with a thumping long-range drive.
But Palace, who hit the left post through an Olise free-kick in added time, remained relatively comfortable as they held on for another precious success, which prompted boos from disgruntled home supporters.
Wolves 2-0 Brentford
Diego Costa’s first Premier League goal for six years helped fire Wolves closer to survival.
The striker inspired the hosts to a 2-0 win over Brentford to end his wait for a goal after his September arrival.
Hwang Hee-Chan netted a crucial second, with Wolves now seven points clear of the relegation zone with seven games left after successive league wins for just the second time this season.
Julen Lopetegui’s side edged towards safety and another barnstorming Costa display sparked memories of his bullying best at Chelsea.
The relegation battle, which has enveloped half the league, has now started to provide more clarity amid the chaos and Wolves will fancy their chances.
Brentford have no such worries but their European hopes continue to fade after a damaging defeat.
They remain ninth but are four points behind Brighton having played two games more. Not that failing to reach Europe should be a criticism of what has been a fine season, but it is one which is threatening to drift into mid-table comfort.
At Molineux, the Bees rarely got going and needed David Raya to superbly turn Mario Lemina’s 20-yard effort over early on.
The goalkeeper was also equal to Matheus Cunha’s strike as Wolves, who had won four of their previous six league games at Molineux, looked for a quick advantage.
Four points clear of the drop zone at kick-off, the hosts knew survival was within reach, and with confidence from last week’s win over Chelsea they continued to press.
A leaner Costa forced Raya into a low stop as he threatened to end his Wolves drought having taken time to readjust to the Premier League.
The Bees initially looked to frustrate and 18-goal Ivan Toney was on the periphery until he had two quickfire glimpses of goal.
Bryan Mbeumo’s cross found Toney, his shot deflected into Josh Dasilva’s path but his instinctive lob dropped over the bar.
Two minutes later Toney’s drive was blocked by a sprawling Max Kilman but Wolves remained on top and opened the scoring after 27 minutes.
It was all down to Costa’s driving run from midfield as he charged forward to pick out Toti on the left.
The striker continued into the box to collect Toti’s cross, evade Christian Norgaard and stab past Raya from 12 yards for his first goal in English football since the 2017 FA Cup final.
Wolves were unbeaten in Lopetegui’s previous eight matches when they had taken the lead so the signs were ominous for Brentford.
Defeat leaves them with just two wins from their last 10 games to further dent any European hopes.
They needed a response but it never came and Raya’s sharp stop denied Costa a second four minutes after the break.
The goalkeeper, so reliable for the Bees this season, had kept them in touching distance but survived a scare soon after when Toti went down under his challenge following Mbeumo’s poor pass.
Wolves screamed for a penalty but a VAR check – by Stuart Attwell – rejected their claims, much to Molineux’s frustration.
Brentford did improve and Yoane Wissa’s tame effort was easy for Jose Sa but Wolves wrapped up victory with 21 minutes left.
It was created by Matheus Nunes – whose spectacular effort earned last week’s 1-0 win at Chelsea – as the midfielder darted down the left and skipped between Rico Henry and Vitaly Janelt.
His low cross was then blocked by Ethan Pinnock but it rolled straight into the path of Hwang to tap in.
Toney hit the bar in stoppage time but there was no way back for Brentford.
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Spurs stunned by Bournemouth, while Ferguson goes off injured as Brighton outclass Chelsea
Tottenham 2-3 Bournemouth
DANGO OUATTARA’S STOPPAGE-TIME strike earned Bournemouth a dramatic 3-2 win at Tottenham to further dent the hosts’ top-four hopes.
A wild game ended the way of Gary O’Neil’s visitors after goals by Matias Vina and Dominic Solanke were added to by substitute Ouattara to earn the Cherries some revenge after they suffered late pain in the reverse fixture in October.
It capped a disastrous afternoon for Spurs’ acting head coach Cristian Stellini, who hooked substitute Davinson Sanchez after a poor 23-minute cameo and saw his gung-ho tactics – where six attackers were on the pitch for the final exchanges – cost his team.
Tottenham remain in fifth but have Aston Villa breathing down their neck and have a critical three-game week against top-four rivals Newcastle and Manchester United coming up with confidence again low while chairman Daniel Levy faced more chants during this 10th defeat of the league season.
Kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes after Bournemouth arrived late due to traffic and while Spurs were waiting for their opponents to turn up, top-four rivals Newcastle suffered a damaging 3-0 loss at Villa.
Tottenham started impressively in pursuit of drawing level with the Magpies and Dejan Kulusevski had three early efforts.
Ivan Perisic also looked a threat from the off, which made it no surprise when the Croatian claimed his 11th assist of the season.
Clement Lenglet produced a superb ball over the top of the away defence and Perisic raced through before he cut back for Heung-min Son to fire home.
It continued Son’s gradual return to form with this his third goal from his last five matches after a largely poor campaign by his usual high standards.
While Ryan Christie blazed over from a good position for the Cherries soon after, Tottenham and in particular Son looked in the mood after his 14th-minute opener.
A flurry of step-overs from Son fooled Chris Mepham but Neto produced an outstanding finger-tip save to deny the forward a second.
The South Korean turned creator moments later when he played in Harry Kane, who could only fire straight at Bournemouth’s captain Neto.
Yet as has often been the case this term, Spurs were unable to sustain their momentum and slowly O’Neil’s relegation-threatened side gained a foothold in the contest.
Marcus Tavernier forced Hugo Lloris into a decent save before Tottenham lost defender Lenglet to a muscle injury.
Stellini reacted by introducing Sanchez but made another altercation to his back-three with Cristian Romero moved over to left centre-back and Bournemouth made the most of an unsettled home defence.
Pedro Porro was robbed by Vina outside Spurs’ penalty area and Solanke sent the full debutant through on goal where he expertly lobbed over the onrushing Lloris in the 38th minute.
It was a fine finish by a player who had played a grand total of 17 minutes prior to this full debut since he joined on loan from Roma in January.
Bournemouth were forced into their own change soon after half-time with goalscorer Vina withdrawn with a back injury but they were celebrating a second goal with 51 minutes played.
Sanchez was involved for all the wrong reasons with Tavernier able to turn the centre-back inside out and while the Spurs substitute got his toe to the ball, it only knocked it perfectly into Solanke’s path who chipped past Lloris.
Tottenham fans booed Sanchez’ next touch and Stellini realised he had to act with the Colombian’s 23-minute cameo soon brought to an end.
Danjuma earned a rare opportunity against his former club as a result and quickly tested Neto.
Kane sent a header wide from a Porro cross with 20 minutes left and Stellini further rolled the dice with Richarlison introduced with Spurs now in a hybrid formation that had six attackers on the pitch.
When Porro blazed over wildly, chants of ‘we want Levy out’ occurred from the South Stand as the seconds ticked away.
An offside call denied Richarlison his first league goal soon after before Danjuma appeared to have rescued Tottenham a point with a fine low effort two minutes from time.
Spurs were hit by a sucker-punch when trying to find a winner when O’Neil’s side broke and Solanke teed up Ouattara, who cut inside and curled home to spark wild celebrations from the away dug-out.
Chelsea 1-2 Brighton
Chelsea slumped to a third consecutive defeat under Frank Lampard as Brighton produced a superb display at Stamford Bridge to enhance their credentials as European contenders.
Substitute Julio Enciso hit the winner 20 minutes from time with a magnificent 30-yard rocket into the top corner, completing a stunning turnaround after Danny Welbeck’s header had cancelled out Conor Gallagher’s deflected opener for the hosts.
Welbeck replaced Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson on 38 minutes, the 18-year-old withdrawn with an apparent ankle injury which will be a concern to both his club manager Roberto Di Zerbi and his national-team boss Stephen Kenny. Ferguson had been outstanding, and came close to opening the scoring only to rattle the bar at The Bridge.
Even on their recent poor run, Chelsea have rarely been so outclassed. Brighton were brilliant, their range of passing and intelligence with the ball making a mockery of the £500million spent by Todd Boehly to try and propel Chelsea up the league. On this showing, only one of these teams belonged in Europe next season.
The early chances fell to Brighton. First, Karou Mitoma burst past Trevor Chalobah down the left and cut back for Alexis Mac Allister who shot wide, then Ferguson took the ball on his left foot, checked inside and with his right smacked a shot against Kepa Arrizabalaga’s crossbar.
Minutes later, Chelsea led. Mykhailo Mudryk took possession on the left and drove infield. Feinting to play the ball wide, he slid a clever reverse ball inside to Gallagher, who strode onto it and hit a shot that deflected off Lewis Dunk and in.
Brighton, undeterred, simply went about their work. Pervis Estupinan went on a determined run down Chelsea’s left and fed the ball inside for Solly March to try his luck from range, the winger’s effort whizzing inches over.
Then Mitoma gave a reminder of his ever-rising stock by dancing through the defence and drawing an outstanding one-handed save from Arrizabalaga.
There were further chances for Mitoma and Mac Allister as the visitors slowly took control of possession and of the game, though both missed the target from promising positions.
Chelsea resorted to playing on the counter, looking to release the lively Mudryk where they could.
Soon Brighton were in total charge, and after 30 minutes they went close again.
Ferguson took the ball from a throw-in and fed substitute Enciso, on for the injured Joel Veltman. He slipped his man and crossed for Ferguson who, having continued his run, placed a header towards the corner, only for Arrizabalaga to fling himself into another superb save to turn it over the bar.
Ferguson, who had been excellent, injured himself in the process and was replaced by Welbeck.
For Brighton it proved a blessing in disguise. They equalised within minutes. The ball was worked out wide to Pascal Gross who looked up to see Welbeck peeling away at the far post. The cross was inch-perfect, and as two Chelsea defenders rose neither could beat Welbeck to the ball and stop him heading Brighton level.
Christian Pulisic hit the post in added time at the end of the half on a rare Chelsea break. Otherwise Brighton’s control of the match by half-time was total.
The second period started in the same vein. Mitoma again tormented Chelsea down the left, and slipped in Enciso who almost gave Brighton the lead but for Arrizabalaga’s block.
Chelsea needed a change. Lampard responded by making four at once, seeking to swing the balance back his team’s way.
If anything, it destabilised them further. On the hour mark Enciso dropped a hint of what was to come, outmuscling Chalobah and substitute Reece James and striking the post.
Then came his moment. There seemed little on when he collected March’s square ball 30 yards out. Chelsea gave him space, failing to take the threat seriously and Enciso made them pay in spectacular fashion.
Everton 1-3 Fulham
Fulham ended an alarming run of Premier League defeats as Marco Silva claimed his first win against Everton to land a blow on his former employers in their attempt to avoid the drop.
Harrison Reed put the Cottagers ahead midway through the first half but Everton hit back through Dwight McNeil and seemed the likeliest to score again before half-time at Goodison Park.
But the momentum swung back towards Fulham when Harry Wilson put them back ahead just after the break before Dan James sealed a 3-1 victory – snapping a sequence of five-successive losses.
With Fulham in the ascendancy, Everton became increasingly disjointed and were booed off at the full-time whistle after squandering the chance to put daylight between themselves and the Premier League relegation zone as they remain above the bottom three on goal difference alone.
This will be especially frustrating for Sean Dyche, whose side have a much better record at home than away – they have only triumphed once on the road this season – but there are no such worries for his opposite number Silva, who managed Everton from May 2018 to December 2019.
Fulham remain in 10th place but have now passed the 40-point barrier and this win could reignite their hopes of pushing for Europe next season.
Both sides struggled for fluency in a cagey opening but spaces gradually opened up with Demarai Gray and Wilson both having tame efforts saved by Bernd Leno and Jordan Pickford respectively.
Fulham were starting to get on top as Andreas Pereira shot wide before the deadlock was broken in the 22nd minute, with Reed slotting beyond Pickford after Everton were left scrambling when Wilson’s curling effort thudded against a post.
As Everton are the lowest scorers in the division, Reed’s strike might have been decisive but the hosts rallied, thanks in part to transitioning from 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 formation as McNeil and Gray began to operate higher up the pitch to support Neal Maupay as Alex Iwobi dropped back into midfield.
Maupay could have opened his account but his point-blank header was straight at Leno and then James Tarkowski wastefully blazed the rebound over before Everton got a deserved equaliser after 35 minutes.
A dithering Joao Palhinha was dispossessed in his own half, allowing the hosts to break as James Garner freed McNeil, who turned and unfurled a fine left-footed shot from 20 yards past an outstretched Leno.
With confidence seemingly restored by the leveller, Everton remained on top but they could not find another way through before the break as Maupay was once again denied by Leno after a one-two by McNeil, whose teasing cross from the right evaded everyone in the box and drifted narrowly wide.
Another McNeil cross to the near post after half-time caught Leno off guard, cannoning into the Fulham goalkeeper’s near post, before the visitors restored their lead in the 51st minute.
Kenny Tete’s cross to the back post was cushioned back by Willian into the path of Wilson, who coolly side-footed the ball into the net.
The visitors had a couple of chances to move even further ahead as Pickford saved from Pereira, who then saw an effort deflected over with Everton increasingly penned back into their own half.
Some slack defending led to Fulham’s third in the 68th minute, with a free-kick over the top catching Everton on their heels although James still did brilliantly to bring the ball down before firing across Pickford.
James might have deepened the misery late on as his effort from an acute angle just missed the target, with the Toffees again caught napping, but it mattered little to the result as Fulham coasted to the three points.
Southampton 0-2 Crystal Palace
Eberechi Eze bagged a brace as Crystal Palace continued their resurgence under Roy Hodgson with a 2-0 win which deepens Southampton’s Premier League relegation concerns.
Eze struck twice in 14 second-half minutes at St Mary’s to earn the Eagles a third consecutive success since former England boss Hodgson returned to Selhurst Park just under four weeks ago.
Bottom club Southampton enjoyed plenty of the ball but were largely toothless in attack as they slipped to a club-record 20th defeat in a 38-game top-flight campaign.
Saints midfielder Carlos Alcaraz came close to halving the deficit as he curled against the inside of the left post before the Eagles cruised to victory to take another significant step towards securing their own survival.
Ruben Selles’ hosts have picked up just two points from the last 18 available, with a drop into the Sky Bet Championship at the end of a miserable season featuring three managers beginning to look inevitable going into their final seven games.
Palace travelled to Hampshire buoyed by their recent upturn in form following the sacking of Patrick Vieira, while Southampton began the day in serious trouble and with time running out.
Saints boss Selles insisted this week his players possess the fight for a relegation scrap.
The Spaniard watched the recalled Joe Aribo blaze over the best chance of a cagey opening quarter following a well-worked corner routine, before Palace midfielder Michael Olise had an effort ruled out for a clear offside having burst through to round home goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.
Southampton forward Theo Walcott, who assisted Aribo’s attempt, later fired into the side-netting after being slipped in by Kamaldeen Sulemana.
Frustration began to grow around the ground as Saints patiently probed for an opener against a solid away side searching for opportunities to counter.
The Eagles, unchanged from last weekend’s 5-1 thrashing of Leeds, failed to register an attempt on target in a forgettable first half.
That statistic persisted until the 54th minute when the visitors edged in front.
Jordan Ayew’s powerful cross from the left was pushed away by Bazunu, leaving Eze with a simple, side-foot volley into the unguarded net.
Palace were far more threatening in attack during the second half of last weekend’s emphatic win in West Yorkshire and that trend continued on the south coast.
Eze, who was on target at Elland Road six days ago, doubled his side’s lead in the 68th minute by turning away from Moussa Djenepo and Romeo Lavia to arrow a low strike into the bottom-left corner from distance.
Southampton were initially stunned by the quick-fire double.
The hosts almost gave their opponents something to think about when Argentinian Alcaraz was unlucky to be denied by the woodwork from the edge of the box in the 72nd minute before he volleyed over from close range moments later.
Saints defender Armel Bella-Kotchap then forced Palace keeper Sam Johnstone into a fine stop with a thumping long-range drive.
But Palace, who hit the left post through an Olise free-kick in added time, remained relatively comfortable as they held on for another precious success, which prompted boos from disgruntled home supporters.
Wolves 2-0 Brentford
Diego Costa’s first Premier League goal for six years helped fire Wolves closer to survival.
The striker inspired the hosts to a 2-0 win over Brentford to end his wait for a goal after his September arrival.
Hwang Hee-Chan netted a crucial second, with Wolves now seven points clear of the relegation zone with seven games left after successive league wins for just the second time this season.
Julen Lopetegui’s side edged towards safety and another barnstorming Costa display sparked memories of his bullying best at Chelsea.
The relegation battle, which has enveloped half the league, has now started to provide more clarity amid the chaos and Wolves will fancy their chances.
Brentford have no such worries but their European hopes continue to fade after a damaging defeat.
They remain ninth but are four points behind Brighton having played two games more. Not that failing to reach Europe should be a criticism of what has been a fine season, but it is one which is threatening to drift into mid-table comfort.
At Molineux, the Bees rarely got going and needed David Raya to superbly turn Mario Lemina’s 20-yard effort over early on.
The goalkeeper was also equal to Matheus Cunha’s strike as Wolves, who had won four of their previous six league games at Molineux, looked for a quick advantage.
Four points clear of the drop zone at kick-off, the hosts knew survival was within reach, and with confidence from last week’s win over Chelsea they continued to press.
A leaner Costa forced Raya into a low stop as he threatened to end his Wolves drought having taken time to readjust to the Premier League.
The Bees initially looked to frustrate and 18-goal Ivan Toney was on the periphery until he had two quickfire glimpses of goal.
Bryan Mbeumo’s cross found Toney, his shot deflected into Josh Dasilva’s path but his instinctive lob dropped over the bar.
Two minutes later Toney’s drive was blocked by a sprawling Max Kilman but Wolves remained on top and opened the scoring after 27 minutes.
It was all down to Costa’s driving run from midfield as he charged forward to pick out Toti on the left.
The striker continued into the box to collect Toti’s cross, evade Christian Norgaard and stab past Raya from 12 yards for his first goal in English football since the 2017 FA Cup final.
Wolves were unbeaten in Lopetegui’s previous eight matches when they had taken the lead so the signs were ominous for Brentford.
Defeat leaves them with just two wins from their last 10 games to further dent any European hopes.
They needed a response but it never came and Raya’s sharp stop denied Costa a second four minutes after the break.
The goalkeeper, so reliable for the Bees this season, had kept them in touching distance but survived a scare soon after when Toti went down under his challenge following Mbeumo’s poor pass.
Wolves screamed for a penalty but a VAR check – by Stuart Attwell – rejected their claims, much to Molineux’s frustration.
Brentford did improve and Yoane Wissa’s tame effort was easy for Jose Sa but Wolves wrapped up victory with 21 minutes left.
It was created by Matheus Nunes – whose spectacular effort earned last week’s 1-0 win at Chelsea – as the midfielder darted down the left and skipped between Rico Henry and Vitaly Janelt.
His low cross was then blocked by Ethan Pinnock but it rolled straight into the path of Hwang to tap in.
Toney hit the bar in stoppage time but there was no way back for Brentford.
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