Bruno Guimaraes scored a 90th-minute winner as Newcastle United earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Fulham at St James' Park.
Just one point and one place split the teams in the Premier League table ahead of Saturday's match, and it looked as though there would be nothing to separate them on Tyneside.
Newcastle started brighter, striking the post twice before Jacob Murphy's 18th-minute opener, but Fulham improved after the half-time introduction of Kevin and levelled through Sasa Lukic's header 56 minutes in.
Guimaraes, Anthony Elanga and Sandro Tonali all went close to restoring Newcastle's advantage, and with stoppage time looming, the Magpies' captain pounced on a saved William Osula effort to slot home.
The victory lifts Newcastle to 11th with 12 points, while Fulham are four back in 16th, with only a three-point cushion to the relegation zone.
How the match unfolded
The woodwork came to Fulham's rescue twice in the opening six minutes. Nick Woltemade somehow struck the post from close range following Dan Burn's knock-down before Murphy rifled against the opposite upright from a tight angle.
But Newcastle went ahead when Murphy profited from Calvin Bassey's error, darted in behind and finished off the far post from the right side of the area.
Adama Traore shot wide at the other end, then Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno denied Murphy one-v-one to keep the score 1-0 at the break.
However, Marco Silva's half-time rethink gave Fulham more of a foothold, and when Kevin's cross was hammered off the crossbar by Raul Jimenez, Lukic nodded in on the rebound.
Guimaraes headed over from a glorious position as Newcastle pushed for a winner, while Ryan Sessegnon's heroic block denied Elanga and Tonali's audacious volley was repelled by Leno.
But Newcastle's pressure finally told in the 90th minute when Leno could only parry Osula's effort, giving Guimaraes a simple side-footed finish.
Newcastle's late flurry rewarded
Few would have expected Newcastle to enter this game 15th in the table, but Eddie Howe's side had struggled for rhythm in the season's early weeks, particularly in attack.
Indeed, the Magpies had only scored seven goals in eight Premier League matches, though Tuesday's 3-0 win over Jose Mourinho's Benfica in the UEFA Champions League gave them fresh impetus.
Newcastle looked a team inspired in the early stages, as they started at a relentless tempo. As well as hitting the post twice, they saw Guimaraes drag an effort wide and Anthony Gordon was inches from turning a wicked Murphy delivery home.
They should certainly have gone into half-time more than one goal to the good. Though Murphy punished one careless giveaway from Bassey, he then failed to convert from a similar position when the Nigerian played him onside just before the break.
Newcastle somewhat lost their way in the opening stages of the second half, but in the final 30 minutes, they were clearly the more likely victors.
Guimaraes and Elanga squandered good chances, but after Osula took advantage of another Bassey giveaway, the Brazilian was on hand to spark wild celebrations among the home fans.
Having put together back-to-back wins across all competitions, Newcastle will look to maintain their momentum against Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup and West Ham United in the Premier League next week.
Bassey mistakes cost Fulham
Like their hosts, Fulham approached this match needing an upturn in the forward positions, with some toothless attacking contributing to their run of three straight defeats.
Fulham have benefitted from two own goals in the Premier League this season, and with none of their own players netting more than once, opposition players have been their best route to goal.
Their struggles in the final third continued in the first half of Saturday's game. Traore was their main outlet on the right flank, and though he enjoyed moments of joy when one-v-one with Burn, his end product was wide of the mark.
But Silva's introduction of Kevin, who took the place of the disappointing Emile Smith Rowe, breathed fresh life into the visitors' frontline. Moments after he squandered an opportunity to find Alex Iwobi unmarked at the far post, Kevin produced an inch-perfect cross for Jimenez, causing the scramble that led to Lukic's goal.
However, Bassey's second big mistake cost Fulham a much-needed point, as his loose play in the centre circle allowed Osula to kickstart the move that culminated with Newcastle's winner.
Fulham have now lost four straight Premier League games for the first time since 2023 and desperately need a response. After visiting Wycombe Wanderers in the EFL Cup, they host Wolverhampton Wanderers next Saturday.
Club reports
Newcastle report | Fulham report
What the managers said
Eddie Howe: "I didn't think the performance was bad and I’m delighted how we found a way to win. The strongest part of our game was the last 20 minutes. We hadn’t started the 2nd half well.
"We needed to inject a different energy onto the pitch. After that we were the dominant team and you’re just hoping you take one of those chances."
Marco Silva: "The game was more them on the front foot, but under control from us, and one mistake again, one mistake that we cannot do and they punished us in a counter-attack moment when you have to do the basics well and we didn't.
"We have to face it, we have to improve, clearly. The collective feelings from ourselves, they were good, but we want more."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Newcastle have won three of their last four home Premier League games (L1), and 10 of their last 11 in which they’ve scored the opening goal (L1).
Fulham have lost four successive league games for only the second time since returning to the top-flight in 2022/23, and for the first time since April 2023.
Guimaraes has scored five goals across his last 10 league appearances for Newcastle at St James’ Park, while today was his 150th start for the club in all competitions.
Since the start of February, only Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland (both 13) have been involved in more goals across home games in all competitions among Premier League players than Newcastle's Murphy (12 - 5 goals, 7 assists).