Fulham blow early lead as Everton comeback to win late

A terrible second half hands Fulham a poor 2-1 defeat at the Cottage

Everton have beaten Fulham in a comeback victory for David Moyes’ team, who have climbed right behind their Merseyside rivals in today’s 2-1 win at the Cottage. After a promising first half, in which an own goal gave Fulham an early lead and many a chance flew in the face of the Everton goal, a truly risible second half performance saw our lead collapse under the pressure of a fearsome Everton response. Dewsbury-Hall put the sword to us, scoring to equalise and setting up an own-goal a few minutes later, in a reminder of the merciless nature of the Premier League; the game saw our familiar failings, be it doziness from set-pieces or the ever-present inability to kill a game off, cost us what could have been a win, and sour some of the good spirits we’ve fostered thus far in 2026.

First Half

It was a slow start at the Cottage for Fulham. Everton aren’t exactly renowned for rampant attacking football but the pragmatic approach Moyes has reinstalled at the club let them pounce on our early sluggishness. Some sprightly runs from youngster Armstrong and Ndiaye created a few early scares around the box, and our wobbles from set-pieces threatened to reward Everton with the lead, Leno thankfully alert enough to push an accurate Garner free-kick over the bar and fortunate O’Brien’s header from his corner struck the post. Yet the switch of Robinson for Sessegnon at left-back seemed to bestow an extra edge upon Fulham’s attack. We had new energy along our left, terrorising O’Brien’s flank and creating several opportunities through the interplay between Sess, Smith Rowe and Chukwueze, pulling threads from the blue backline and working the ball into the box. One cross from the left-back needed Pickford to punch it out for a corner, leading to a Berge header cleared off the line by O’Brien.

This was Everton’s weakness, and we took advantage. Smith Rowe worked the ball quickly beyond Gueye, out to Chukwueze hugging the touchline. He lifted the ball over the masses that had converged on the left, guiding it to Iwobi’s clever run into space. The Nigerian international’s touch took him into Keane, but in his haste the centre-back touched the ball straight back to Sessegnon, cleverly burrowing into the box. Sess knocked the ball into the path of Jimenez, right in front of goal; the shot was straight at the keeper, yet Pickford’s impulsive palm away travelled straight back into Mykolenko, still midway through his attempted block of the shot, and rebounded back into the net. Everton’s defending was poor, but our fine work on the left had created the opportunity to strike.

We might have doubled the lead fairly quickly, taking the ball off a stunned Everton and storming down the left again with Jimenez, who fed Sessegnon and let him bend a ball into the box for Chukwueze: his one-touch shot on the turn was pushed narrowly wide by Pickford. It was a nervy period for the visitors, whose movements up the pitch in search of an equaliser seemed to destabilise their creaking defence. A flurry of corners were conceded, with Everton struggling to abate the pressure - Keane needed to block a Berge shot from within the box, a rushed tackle on Chukwueze by Garner let Smith Rowe fire a shot off the crossbar and, dawdling from a goal-kick, some fierce pressure from Sess let him pinch the ball off O’Brien, moving it quickly through Smith Rowe to Jimenez. With Wilson completely unmarked to his right, a goal seemed certain - unfortunately, Raul tried to turn Mykolenko’s in possession, and dragged his shot wide.

Our visitors weren’t out of the contest though. With Dewsbury-Hall on the pitch, chances could be created from scant little. A rare lapse in concentration from Berge let him slip a ball through to Barry - Andersen had to track the forward to the goalline, eventually diverting out his shot. This seemed to shake Everton out of their slumber, and in the latter phase of the half they enjoyed some possession of their own. Ndiaye swapped wings with Armstrong to take on Castagne, to great effect; he dazed him with a piece of skill and whipped a ball across, needing Cuenca to make a swift clearance and the good fortune of Armstrong steering his volley off-target.

Whilst the centre-backs were diligent, warding Everton out of the box, the technical skills of our opponents gave us a few quandaries to manage. Garner and Gueye moved the ball around nicely, letting Everton put us on the back foot, and critically freeing their defence up to move into good passing positions; Mykolenko almost made this pay towards the end of the period, with Dewsbury-Hall collecting a long-pass from the fullback with his chest, striking a pass around Andersen and into the path of Barry. If the forward had timed his sliding swipe a little better, it surely would have flown into the net too quickly for Leno to stop - instead, its deflection off his foot flew out to Gueye, who guided a comfortable shot into the keeper’s grateful grasp.

It was enough to maintain our lead for the half, as our gameplan shifted into a series of promising counter-attacks. Chukwueze was a key figure here - his pace was too much for Everton, and with his radar switched on provided numerous killer balls for Fulham to try and convert. Wilson may rue missing one, receiving a poorly-timed defensive header from Keane but smacking a bad effort off target. Another, built through crisp passes from Iwobi and then his pacey compatriot, slotting it through the lines to find Smith Rowe’s run into the box, needed a loftier finish than Emile gave it, letting Pickford’s legs deny the goal. Incredibly, this still wasn’t the end - the corner led to Armstrong clearing the ball straight to Chukwueze, who from outside the box fired yet another effort onto the crossbar, skimming the bar as it flew over.

Second Half

Everton needed a goal, and they wasted no time trying to score one. They bombarded our box with a cavalcade of crosses, moving their backline into our half and shelling the centre-backs with aerial balls in. It signalled a nervy character for the half - our failure to extend the lead when we were on top had clearly given Moyes motivation for his team, and the full-backs pushed forward to ensure no respite for our defence. They passed nicely and pressed hard, forcing our attackers back to try and deflate the attacking danger.

Not for the first time this season, the skittish finishing of their striker - and a few others in the team - denied them a reward for their efforts. Repeatedly, the promise of their crosses, possession and movement was denied by poor finishing, sloppiness in the critical moments, a failure to grasp the energy of the moment. Michael Keane can perhaps be forgiven for miscuing the earliest of these chances, wasting a brilliant piece of dribbling by Dewsbury-Hall to sneak away from Berge and fire a ball into the box. Barry has less leeway, heading a good corner from Garner wide and losing a smart through ball into the box from Ndiaye under his feet.

It wasn’t as though we were completely defunct in the half. Smith Rowe was cruising through the game, picking the ball up in our half and bursting through the midfield to take danger away from our defence. He earnt a booking for Gueye in the first half and did the same for Garner in this one, demonstrating his quality in the team. On the rare moments we got on the ball for a solid period, building on these attacking moves, we showed promise - a good interception caused by Cuenca stepping out of the backline let him move the ball to Wilson, ahead of the advanced midfield. He shifted the ball left, to an unopposed Chukwueze. With Armstrong too far behind him for his tracking back to save the danger, a cross fizzed into the area - yet Mykolenko made a crucial interception to sneak ahead of Jimenez, denying the striker the chance to finish.

We urgently needed a change, evidenced by Ndiaye taking advantage of our foray forward by storming forward, slipping Dewsbury-Hall in peeling down the left - Andersen was fortunately placed to stop the cross finding Barry, and again our set-piece weakness went unpunished as Tarkowski couldn’t time his jump to hit Garner’s corner correctly. Being off the ball so frequently made us nervy and fleeting, giving away possession cheaply and blundering about despite the hunger of our opponents. Cuenca’s game started to fall apart, at one point losing track of a winnable through-ball to body-check Barry’s run and earning a booking for his moment of chaos. Leno, having kicked the ball straight to Everton players moments earlier, rushed off his line to try and punch the free-kick clear, instead catching Cuenca in the head.

The stoppage for his treatment seemed to at least make Silva consider a change, though not before Moyes had introduced his own, swapping Barry and Armstrong for the pacey duo of striker Beto and new signing - and Fulham target - Tyrique George. After the corner was dealt with, Jimenez and Chukwueze departed for Kevin and the long-awaited return of Rodrigo Muniz. But, as had been feared, the changes came too late. Everton had the momentum, and now had the players to eke out the difference. Taking up Armstrong’s slot on the left, George sucked the fallible Castagne towards him, freeing up space for Mykolenko to overlap down the flank. The Ukrainian obliged, moving into the box and forcing Andersen to try and stop the attack. It wasn’t the Dane’s finest moment - with a clever touch, Mykolenko cut away from Andersen at an angle that took the centre-back out of his path, before drilling the ball back into Dewsbury-Hall, nicely slotted away from Iwobi and behind the backline to take a strike at goal. His effort was too quick for Leno to react properly, and the keeper could only divert it into his own net for the equaliser.

This was a horrible piece of defending, but it had been coming - we had failed to recapture our first-half energy, and Everton punished us for it. They had the motivation to stave us off, O’Brien besting Kevin on the first attempt and easily smothering our attempt to threaten from a corner by scuttling us into a tame effort for Berge, scuffing a shot into the ground. And once again, any move we tried to make offensively was being countered rapidly by the Everton attack. Beto placed Cuenca under pressure with his own energy, at one point burrowing behind another horrid attempt to deal with an aerial ball - Leno was forced to surge from his line to block the striker’s shot, and moments later watched George take the ball from Gueye and whip yet another effort off the bar.

Combined failures to take the ball out of danger began to compound - the repeated threat of Dewsbury-Hall, comfortable firing crosses into the box away from the combined efforts of Castagne, Iwobi and Wilson on our right, meant corners continued to be won, the latest through a speculative punch from Leno. Another double-change took place right before it was taken - Tete and Bobb arrived for the hapless Castagne and an exhausted Smith Rowe. Yet the pause seemed to make us lose focus, unpiecing our set-up for the set-piece. Dewsbury-Hall guided the ball to the six-yard box, where Leno found himself stuck behind O’Brien. He perilously flapped at the incoming ball, but to his horror punched it into his own net, sending the Everton fans into delirium.

Another awful piece of defending had given Everton the lead, and despite there being a considerable stretch of time left, the game was as good as dead. Kevin, to his credit, did earn a free kick against O’Brien, but like the other “chances” in this phase for us it came to nothing. Relying on pumping balls towards a still-recovering Muniz was a hopeless strategy, the closest resulting in a very-off-target header from an Iwobi cross, and Everton were content to let us smack the ball anywhere but the goal. Pickford happily received a yellow card for some late timewasting before the final whistle sounded: another defeat for Silva’s side.

A Game of Two Halves

Fulham, once again, blew a strong position in a game. It is worth pointing out that several members of this team have played through a lot of minutes this season, and the fall off in the second half perhaps demonstrates the cumulative toll this has taken - which makes one wonder why Marco waited until the 75th minute to make any changes. Cuenca was falling to pieces even before he got clobbered in the face, our midfield duo didn’t have the fuel left to battle Everton out of their comfort zone during many a spell of possession and the likes of Jimenez and Wilson were left wheezing deep into the half. Everton brought on two players and had a goal for their changes minutes later - the pragmatism Marco shows so often eluded us today.

Of course, it is silly to lay the blame at the manager’s hands when glaring errors were made for both goals. Andersen had a horrible moment against Mykolenko for the equaliser, utterly humbled by the full-back. Leno had egg on his face too, with his punched own-goal the worst of a few feeble moments from aerial situations. How no one on the team thought to offer some protection to their keeper is another question though, and points to the wider chaos that has set in across a few moments this season. Castagne is the easy target and had another weak game - if Tete is fit, he must start midweek against Manchester City. But the centre-backs both fell to pieces this afternoon, be it Cuenca losing his nerve against Barry and Beto, or Andersen being deceived in critical moments, and their collective failures from set-pieces is costing us goals far too regularly. When you defend as carelessly as we did, defeat is inevitable.

It’s a shame, as there were positive moments throughout the opening spell. Sess has surely sent a message to Robinson, given his attacking fluidity with the rest of the team. Iwobi and Berge, when they had the legs, were smooth as silk across the first half, and kept the pressure on Everton very nicely. Smith Rowe showcased the quality on and off the ball Arsenal fans rave about, and was involved in everything Fulham did right in attack. The margins are very tight - Pickford’s fine saves across the game, the frame of the goal, and Jimenez taking a selfish move in a critical situation are all examples of where the game might have turned. It’s clear that the team aren’t a lost cause in attack, and with Muniz finally back, Bobb joining the ranks and Kevin playing with a touch more confidence there’s a lot to be excited about. However, if Cairney is injured we do have a concern in the CM role - Iwobi and Berge were tired towards the end of the game, and if they don’t have suitable rest we will be walked all-over as Everton did today. There is a looming concern for Silva to address there.

Everton for Europe?

Not so at his former club, where Moyes has guided Everton into 7th place. It’s a fine achievement given their recent history, and whilst there’s a long way to go this season, the team seem to have a promising future ahead of them. The turnaround for Dewsbury-Hall following his struggles at Chelsea is stupendous - the man was everywhere today, and seems to be channeling his inner Beckham with the consistency of the deliveries into the box he supplied his teammates with. The intelligence to find the space away from our players was clever too - he slotted neatly into pockets around the left and centre all game, and had a direct hand in both goals as a reward.

Barry still resembles Bambi at times, unable to get his body in the right contortion to put the ball goalwards, but his efforts tire out defenders and certainly sowed the seeds for Beto when he arrived. More directly effective was Ndiaye, who enjoyed a few creative moments cutting inside from the flanks and feeding the ball through the gaps his movement created. Garner and Gueye, whilst a bit heavy at times, are a good midfield pairing - they had the legs to last the game, and plugged many a hole at the back, something important given the struggles the backline had at times over the game. Compare our difficulty even getting a Fulham man on the ball in Everton’s box vs the porous nature our defence had by the end of the game and you can see the impact the pair have for their team.

On the backline, I do think they were a bit fortunate not to concede more - Pickford and the crossbar bailed them out a few times, and they certainly relied on team spirit rather than exceptional individual defending. However, communication and resilience can make even the lowest of players rise to a challenge, and collectively the four steeled up when it mattered, batting our feeble attacks away to secure the victory. It’s another three points on the road for their team as a result - Everton are looking excellently placed for a surprise run at the European spots.

Is it but a dream for Fulham, though? As poor as today’s capitulation was, we sit in the middle of a congested table, and given the abundance of European spots dished out to the Premier League it feels too early to write us off completely. At the same time the fear of the last two results, combined with a daunting visit to the blue half of Manchester, morphing into a complete slump of form, feels quite real. What is certain is that Marco needs to turn the side’s spirits around quickly, and ensure our late setbacks are a blip, not a pattern for the rest of the season.