Fulham bolstered their push for European qualification with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Tuesday.
Ryan Sessegnon’s lightning-fast opener set the tone before Rodrigo Muniz secured the win early in the second half.
The visitors made an instant impact, with Sessegnon breaking the deadlock just 58 seconds into the game.
The winger, making his first Premier League start since rejoining Fulham from Tottenham, latched onto an Andreas Pereira pass and drilled a precise shot into the far corner.
Despite falling behind early, Wolves responded well, dominating possession and creating chances.
Their persistence paid off in the 18th minute when Joao Gomes capitalized on a loose ball from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s cross, smashing a powerful strike into the roof of the net.
As halftime approached, Wolves forward Matheus Cunha twice tested Bernd Leno, first with a tame free kick and then with a more threatening effort that the Fulham goalkeeper managed to keep out.
However, just two minutes into the second half, Fulham struck again. Adama Traore’s well-placed low pass found Muniz on the edge of the box, and the Brazilian forward expertly chipped the ball over an advancing Jose Sa to restore Fulham’s lead.
Wolves struggled to break down a resolute Fulham defence, though Rayan Ait-Nouri nearly snatched a late equalizer, only for Timothy Castagne to make a crucial last-ditch block in stoppage time.
Reflecting on his team’s performance, Fulham boss Marco Silva acknowledged the significance of the early goals.
“Of course the early goals ([n each half] made an impact,” Silva told the BBC. “They made us play in a mid-block off the ball because when you’re winning they have to come a bit more. We did control the second half in a different way to what we normally do.”
The victory was Fulham’s first-ever Premier League win at Molineux and their first at the stadium since a 4-0 triumph in the second tier back in 1985.
It also propelled them to ninth in the table with 42 points from 27 games, putting them just four points behind the top four and two points adrift of fifth-placed Manchester City, who take on Tottenham on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Wolves remain precariously positioned in 17th place, five points above the relegation zone.
That gap could shrink further depending on results elsewhere, with 18th-placed Ipswich Town visiting Manchester United on Wednesday and Leicester City, in 19th, facing West Ham on Thursday.
A frustrated Wolves manager, Vitor Pereira, did not hold back in his post-match assessment.
“It’s three points that we wasted,” he lamented. “It’s time to work, to correct the mistakes, to not sleep in the dressing room because I think we slept in the dressing room and we went into the game sleeping. This cannot happen again.”
Looking ahead, Wolves shift focus to the FA Cup as they travel to Bournemouth for a fifth-round clash on Saturday, while Fulham prepare for a crucial league encounter against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
