Everton extended their unbeaten run to five Premier League matches as they produced a second-half turnaround to win 2-1 at Fulham, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall playing a crucial role.
Fulham dominated the first half at Craven Cottage and were unfortunate not to go into the interval further ahead, with Vitalii Mykolenko’s own goal putting Marco Silva’s team in front.
Indeed, if not for the crossbar and a big miss from Fulham forward Raul Jimenez, the Toffees, who also saw Jake O’Brien hit the woodwork early on, may have been out of the contest.
Yet Everton made their fortune count with a strong second-half display, and their pressure told in the 75th minute when Mykolenko teed up Dewsbury-Hall to equalise.
The Everton midfielder then created Everton’s winner eight minutes later, with Bernd Leno punching his corner into his own net as David Moyes’ side moved up to seventh, with Fulham dropping to 10th.
How the match unfolded
Everton almost took the lead as O’Brien leapt highest to meet James Garner’s corner, but his header struck the post with Leno rooted to his line.
Yet Fulham responded in force and went ahead in the 18th minute. Michael Keane’s attempted clearance resulted in Jimenez getting a shot off, and though Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford kept it out, it rebounded in off Mykolenko.
Pickford tipped Samuel Chukwueze’s effort wide before Fulham's Emile Smith Rowe struck the crossbar, and Jimenez dragged wide with plenty of the goal to aim at after more poor defending from the visitors.
Chukwueze clipped the crossbar before the break, while Mykolenko made a heroic clearance just after the hour mark to deny Jimenez from applying a finishing touch to the Nigerian’s cross.
Mykolenko then came up big at the other end when he coolly found Dewsbury-Hall, whose low finish beat Leno.
Everton’s comeback was complete in the 83rd minute – Leno failing to clear under pressure from O’Brien and only managing to punch Dewsbury-Hall’s dangerous corner into Fulham’s goal.
Fulham made to rue missed chances
Fulham were denied a point at Manchester United last week after Benjamin Sesko’s stoppage-time goal consigned them to a 3-2 defeat after a spirited Cottagers comeback, but their first-half display this time out hinted Silva’s men had put that disappointment firmly behind them.
While Everton did have chances – O’Brien’s header against a post was followed by shots for Harrison Armstrong and Thierno Barry later in the half - it was Fulham who displayed dominance.
The home side sustained possession and were particularly a threat down the left, with Ryan Sessegnon at the centre of several attacks.
Sessegnon was involved in the opening goal and also created another opportunity for Chukwueze, and Silva will no doubt bemoan a lack of clinical edge, as well as a bit of bad luck when it came to the woodwork saving Everton.
Jimenez’s miss was the big one, while Fulham's Harry Wilson uncharacteristically got his execution all wrong when he skied an effort over.
But a lack of concentration seeped into Fulham’s second-half performance, and the goals they conceded were soft from a defensive standpoint.
It is now three defeats in four league games for Fulham, who visit Manchester City next.
Everton’s road resolve
A late goal from Beto at Brighton & Hove Albion last week preserved Everton’s strong away form, and the Toffees continued that run here.
They were toothless in the first half at Brighton, failing to have a shot, but showed more attacking promise this time out, with O’Brien particularly unlucky.
Defensively, though, Everton were all at sea at times. Jarrad Branthwaite was named as a substitute as Moyes looks to manage the centre-back's minutes, and his calmness was missed as James Tarkowski and Keane struggled.
Fulham could only punish Everton once, though, with Pickford and the frame of the goal minimising the damage, and it paved the way for a much-improved display after half-time as the Toffees made the most of those reprieves.
Their equaliser was well worked, and though the winner was rather scrappy, the travelling Everton contingent will care little as they celebrate a sixth away win of the season, while they are unbeaten on the road since they lost 2-0 at Chelsea on 13 December.
This win nudged Everton ahead in the race for European qualification, and now they will hope to rekindle their home form when they face AFC Bournemouth on Tuesday.
Club reports
Fulham report | Everton report
What the managers said
Marco Silva: "It has to be disappointing. The game at half time should have been decided. It should have been 4-0, 4-1. At this level you have to be ruthless. It was a good first half and the second half was completely the opposite. We can only blame ourselves. The way we lost this afternoon should be a real learning point for us because at this level you cannot be soft and we were too soft. The way we defended, we are too soft."
David Moyes: "I think every win in the Premier League is significant, especially against a side that has been on a really good run in good form. This was a tough game for us, it always has been here but thankfully we were able to turn things around and get three points."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Everton are unbeaten in their last five away league games (W3 D2), their longest streak without a defeat on the road since a nine-game span between November 2020-March 2021.
Dewsbury-Hall has scored four goals across his last eight Premier League appearances, as many as he did in his first 82 games in the competition.
Mykolenko’s own goal was Everton’s 62nd in the Premier League, the most of any side in the history of the competition.
Everton have hit the woodwork 11 times in the Premier League this season, with only Manchester United (18) and Newcastle (14, before Brentford game) hitting more often. Indeed, Everton have hit the woodwork in four of their last five Premier League games.