A second-half double from Fulham's Clint Dempsey either side of a Dickson Etuhu effort against his old club means Fulham are now pressing for seventh spot with this comfortable win over Manchester City.
Young midfielder Stephen Ireland, by far the Blues' most consistent performer this season, put his team ahead on 28 minutes.
There was no immediate danger when Valeri Bojinov, asked to play a lone role in attack, flicked a pass to Ireland on halfway.
The visitors fatally decided to stand off, not even making a tackle as the City midfield man reached the penalty area.
Having got so far, Ireland decided to try his luck. And, profiting from a deflection off John Pantsil, he beat Mark Schwarzer with a dipping effort.
brave header
In truth it was just about the only noteworthy effort of the opening 45 minutes of a match that pitched Nigeria-born brothers Dickson and Kelvin Etuhu against each other.
Martin Petrov sporadically sprang into life on his first Barclays Premier League start since August but there was very little purpose on either side, which was a surprise considering West Ham United's defeat on Saturday had once again opened the door to a European slot.
Shay Given was called upon just once, when Bobby Zamora wriggled free of Richard Dunne and let fly with a shot on the turn that he was equal to.
It was a poor return from Fulham, who in the corresponding fixture last season had begun what turned out to be a miraculous escape from relegation when they came back from two goals down to record a priceless victory.
But, just as they did 12 months ago, Roy Hodgson's men overcame a dismal interval position to get their noses in front. This time it only took 14 minutes to complete the turnaround.
brave header
First, after being gifted possession by Pablo Zabaleta, Dempsey latched onto the loose ball when Micah Richards had jumped in to tackle Zamora and expertly curled home.
Then, when City's wobbling defence failed to cut out the danger presented by Dempsey and the overlapping Paul Konchesky from the left, Etuhu rifled into the corner against his former club from 20 yards.
Robinho's introduction, along with that of Daniel Sturridge, followed shortly afterwards, to rapturous applause.
Not that it made much difference as Fulham continued to look more threatening.
Brede Hangeland wasted a glorious chance to wrap up the points after Given had punched Dempsey's curling free-kick into Zamora.
But another goal arrived seven minutes from time when City were caught on the counter-attack and Dempsey bagged his second from Zamora's square pass.
