Willian completed his brace with a dramatic stoppage-time winner from the penalty spot as Fulham held off Wolves to claim all three points in a thrilling 3-2 victory at Craven Cottage.
The experienced 35-year-old scored two penalties, while Alex Iwobi’s early strike was cancelled out by Matheus Cunha and Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chan also netted from the spot.
The winger’s double took his tally to three for the season as the Cottagers claimed their first victory in four games.
A golden chance was presented to the hosts after 40 seconds. The creative Andreas Pereira whipped a dangerous ball into the box and Fulham striker Raul Jimenez swung his boot but failed to convert his second in as many games.
But Pereira’s efforts were rewarded in the seventh minute when he set up the opening goal of the game.
The Brazilian was everywhere. He drifted onto the left before he beat his marker and delivered another perfect drilled low pass, this time to the alert Iwobi who gave Fulham a deserved 1-0 lead.
The Cottagers looked to strike again through Jimenez, who failed to tap home before Wolves keeper Jose Sa denied Tom Cairney’s powerful effort moments later.
Wolves grew into the game and were unfortunate not to score a goal of their own.
Mario Lemina started positively against his old side and drove forward before unleashing Korean striker Hwang, who was denied by the crossbar.
And Wolves got the goal they needed in the 22nd minute through Cunha after a magical moment of individual play in the build-up.
It started through tricky Frenchman Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who toyed with Antonee Robinson on the left flank, before he jinked outside and delivered a delightful cross to the head of Cunha in front of the empty net.
The minutes before the goal suggested it was coming and Marco Silva’s side yet again paid the price for not taking their chances.
Individual mistakes were a big theme of the first half and goalkeeper Bernd Leno was called into action after a defensive error in the 36th minute where Timothy Castagne dealt with a cross which would have seen Cunha claim his second at the back post.
Cunha started Wolves’ first big chance in the second half when he slipped strike partner Hwang wide but his cross to Matt Doherty was kept out of danger by Castagne, who replicated his earlier heroics.
But typical of the end-to-end game, Fulham won a penalty after Cairney beat Nelson Semedo to the ball and was brought down in the box.
A VAR check ruled the incident to have happened inside the area and Willian stuttered in his run-up and sent Sa the wrong way, stroking his effort into the bottom right corner to restore Fulham’s lead.
A deft flick on from Jimenez set Iwobi through but the Nigeria international was denied his brace by Sa who tipped his effort over before the Wolves keeper stopped another effort not long after to keep his side in the contest with 20 to go.
And Wolves converted a penalty of their own in the 75th minute through Hwang.
Fulham skipper Tim Ream bundled Hwang to the ground and the striker stepped up and blasted his effort down the middle to make it 2-2 in front of Wolves’ travelling supporters.
In dramatic fashion Fulham won another penalty in added time after Joao Gomes was deemed to have brought down Harry Wilson in the box.
The clinical Willian calmly stepped up and buried his effort past Sa to give the hosts an important 3-2 win.
Moyes to leave West Ham at end of season
West Ham have confirmed that David Moyes will leave the club at the end of the season when his contract expires.
It comes after reports on Monday that former Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui agreed a deal to take over from the Scot.
Moyes, who has overseen 260 games so far during his two spells with the club, guided West Ham to their first European trophy since 1965 when they beat Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final in 2023.
In a club statement, Moyes said: “I have enjoyed four and a half brilliant years at West Ham, and the club is in a stronger position than when I returned back in 2019.
“When I joined West Ham for a second time, the club was one place above the relegation zone, and it has been a terrific journey to have achieved three consecutive seasons in Europe.
“I would like to thank all the players for their support, and all the success they have achieved over the last four and a half years.
“I have really enjoyed working with everyone at West Ham, and I would like to thank the Board for giving me the opportunity to manage this great club.
“I wish my eventual successor, the directors, the players, the staff, the fans, and everybody at West Ham, all the very best for the future.”
This season, Moyes has come under increasing pressure after a poor run of form, including a 5-0 thrashing by Chelsea on Sunday.
However, after saving West Ham from relegation in both stints at the club, first between November 2017 and May 2018 and then from November 2019, Moyes has overseen three successive European campaigns.
With two games left of the campaign, Moyes boasts a record of 111 from his 260 matches, with a win percentage of 44.7 per cent in all competitions over both spells in charge.
Ten Hag hits back at Mourinho dig over Man United board backing
Erik ten Hag has hit back at Jose Mourinho after the former Manchester United manager said he did not get the same level of support as the Dutchman.
Mourinho, who spent two and a half years in charge of United, suggested in an interview with the Telegraph that he did not have the same backing in the transfer market, or the same level of "trust" instilled in him as Ten Hag.
The former Ajax manager recently spoke to Sky Sports about failing to sign stars like Harry Kane, with the club instead choosing to invest in younger players with potential, like Rasmus Hojlund.
Ten Hag is facing an uncertain future at the club with just one year left on his contract following a disappointing second campaign. New co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has given no guarantees that he will keep his post next season.
Now, Ten Hag has responded to Mourinho’s claims, stating that the Portuguese coach was the only manager after Alex Ferguson to be given backing by the board.
Speaking to ESPN Brazil, Ten Hag said: "Apart from Mourinho, the manager didn't get the players they wanted, and that is what you need.
"I am confident we will achieve our goals, but it is a tough competition. It is not a two-horse race anymore.
"There are seven, eight [teams in the Premier League] who all go for the title, who all have very good squads. So if you want to go to the title, you have to construct that squad."
Van Dijk insists he will be part of Liverpool's transition from Klopp
Virgil van Dijk says he will be "part of" the big transition following Jurgen Klopp’s departure at the end of the season.
The German will leave Liverpool after nine years in charge, with a deal agreed for Feyenoord manager, Arne Slot, to replace him.
Van Dijk, who signed for Liverpool in January 2018, is going into the final year of his contract, and admitted he has not heard anything about an extension.
"There is nothing for me to discuss because there is no news," Van Dijk said.
"I think the club is very much busy with who is going to be the new manager and that is the main focus.
"I am very happy here. I love the club, and you can see that as well. It’s a big part of my life already. The focus is now on the last two games and then the club will focus on who the new manager is and there will be a big transition, and I am part of that.
"When the season is over and there is news, we will focus on what is coming next, but it is a fact that there will be a lot of changes happening, and it will be interesting. I am here to be a part of that and looking forward to it.
"I am the captain, so I want to help, I will help, and I should help. If he [Slot] is the one who comes, then let’s see.
"There will be a lot of changes happening. I wouldn’t say scary is the right word, but it is quite interesting and exciting what will happen now."
Liverpool beat Tottenham 4-2 on Sunday, putting recent setbacks behind them to return to winning ways at Anfield.
The Reds won the EFL Cup in February, and though a Premier League title now looks unlikely, Van Dijk is hopeful that they can finish Klopp’s reign strongly.
"Listen, if you said at the start of the season that this is how it would have gone, then I think we would have taken that," he added.
"We are winners, and we were close. We weren’t good enough in the decisive moments, but that is life. We have to stick together, and we will.
"A few of us have been in title races and on the losing sides at times and it hurts. But we have to take this experience with us, and you only improve if you learn and that is the aim, and we can take that into next season. We want to give the manager a good farewell and do it for ourselves as well."
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