Fulham staged a brilliant second-half comeback to edge Newcastle United 2-1 in an entertaining Premier League encounter at St. James’ Park.
TV Info - Broadcasters
Rodrigo Muniz’s deft finish from an Andreas Pereira free-kick eight minutes from time handed the Cottagers their first away win against Newcastle since 2009.
Raul Jimenez scored his ninth league goal of the season just after the hour as he cancelled out Jacob Murphy’s opener for Eddie Howe’s side in the first half.
Sandro Tonali and Alexander Isak struck the woodwork on either side of the break, but the Magpies were consigned to their second straight home defeat.
Newcastle remain fifth with 41 points - level with fourth-placed Manchester City who face Arsenal on Sunday - while Fulham move up to ninth with their win.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |
Man City
MCI
|
23 | +17 | 41 |
| 5 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
24 | +13 | 41 |
| 6 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
23 | +15 | 40 |
| 7 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
24 | +13 | 40 |
| 8 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
24 | -3 | 37 |
| 9 |
Fulham
FUL
|
24 | +4 | 36 |
How the match unfolded
Newcastle were made to wait until the 28th minute for their first shot on target as Fabian Schar was slipped in by Bruno Guimaraes only for Bernd Leno to save well before Tonali struck the woodwork with a fierce strike from 30 yards out.
Only two minutes later, Anthony Gordon drove forward with the ball down the left-hand side and his cross deflected kindly off Calvin Bassey and into the path of Murphy who finished first time.
Leno was called upon again soon after, denying Tino Livramento, who was played through on goal by Isak five minutes before the half-time interval.
Jimenez equalised for Fulham in the 61st minute, intercepting Tonali’s loose pass before converting Antonee Robinson’s cross via a deflection off Murphy.
The Cottagers continued to threaten and were rewarded for their efforts when substitute Muniz arrived at the near post to guide Pereira’s set-piece delivery past Martin Dubravka for the winner.
Newcastle beaten at home again
It was all looking good for Newcastle at the halfway point of the contest as Murphy’s goal had them back in the Premier League's top four. However, Howe’s side once again came up short at home, having also lost 4-1 to AFC Bournemouth a fortnight ago.
Howe fielded the same side that beat Southampton 3-1 last week, but they failed to come up with a reply after they were hit early by Fulham in the second half through Jimenez.
Newcastle substitute Joe Willock arrived in the box unmarked but failed to wrap his foot around a cross from Isak in the 68th minute, arguably the hosts’ best chance of finding a second goal.
As the Magpies probed for an equaliser, they struck the crossbar for the second time in the match when Isak’s curled effort had Leno beaten, but they were made to rue those misses as the visitors completed their comeback late on.
With crunch clashes against champions Man City, Nottingham Forest and Liverpool coming next, Howe will have his work cut out to help his side regain their winning momentum.
Fulham produce spirited fightback
When Fulham defeated Newcastle 3-1 at Craven Cottage in the reverse fixture, back in September, both Jimenez and Emile Smith Rowe struck inside 22 minutes.
But it was the Magpies who made the brighter of starts on Saturday and deservedly went ahead, only for Marco Silva’s side to come out a completely different team after half-time.
There were glimpses of what they could produce in the first period, though. Jimenez got behind the Newcastle defence in the 31st minute only to fluff his lines, while Adama Traore, who replaced the injured Harry Wilson, couldn’t get enough purchase on a header from Alex Iwobi’s cross three minutes later.
But Fulham put Newcastle firmly on the back foot at the start of the second period with Dubravka having to push away a long-range effort from Smith Rowe in the 48th minute. Jimenez’s shot was deflected behind by Schar soon after.
Jimenez continued to create problems for Howe’s side before he initiated the comeback, with substitutes Muniz and Pereira combining to give Fulham only their third Premier League double over Newcastle - after also beating them home and away in 2006/07 and 2008/09.
The Cottagers will still cling on to their hopes of reaching the European places but they face high-flying Nott'm Forest at the City Ground next.
Club reports
Newcastle report | Fulham report
What the managers said
Eddie Howe: "I don't think we played particularly well. We got ourselves ahead but we conceded a couple of poor goals today. We never got full control of the game like we wanted to do. Very disappointing overall."
Marco Silva: "I'm very pleased, really. It's not easy to play here against a really good side who are well managed and are also a very physical one. It's really difficult to control the game against the players they have in the middle of the park but most of the time we did it."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Fulham have won three of their last five Premier League matches when behind at half-time (D1 L1), more victories than in their previous 88 such games in the competition (W2 D10 L76).
Newcastle have lost consecutive Premier League home matches for the first time in over a year (since Jan 2024), as many defeats as in their previous 18 games at St James’ Park (W10 D6 L2).
Robinson assisted his 10th goal of the season in the Premier League, the joint most of any Fulham player in a single season, moving level with Steed Malbranque (10 in 2003/04).
Jimenez scored his ninth Premier League goal of the season, with all nine either putting Fulham ahead (six) or equalising (three).
