Fulham put an end to their losing streak against Aston Villa with an important 1-0 win over the Villans at Craven Cottage. But, what does it mean for their season?
Fulham scored their first goal since March and returned to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Backed by their home support, where Fulham last scored in a 3-1 win over relegated Burnley on March 21, The Cottagers put in a far more spiritied and eager attacking display.
Ryan Sessegnon, just days after signing a new contract with his boyhood club, scored the only goal of the match shortly before half-time and from then on, it was an impressive display by the defensive unit to hold Villa out.
It was a first win since the international break resumed, with a defeat to Liverpool and a draw against Brentford initially threatening to put an early end to Fulham’s season.
But, there was to be no such issue when returning home and a big win over an Aston Villa side who had won their last six matches against Fulham, changes the whole complexion over the final four matches of the season.
So with Fulham winning, what does it mean for their season?
In short, Fulham defeating Aston Villa is about far more than just morale and ending streaks.
It puts them right into the picture of a European place.
The race for both Europa League and Conference League places are still very much on and we have seen teams bow out of the running this weekend.
Crystal Palace’s defeat to Liverpool leaves them five points off the Conference League spot and you feel they will need to win at least four of their remaining five matches to stand any chance.
Given two of those are against Arsenal and Manchester City and the fact they are in the Conference League, it seems unlikely.
Newcastle too are now surely out of the running, which leaves Brighton, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Brentford, Fulham, Everton and Sunderland in the mix.
Brighton seem a shoo-in to finish sixth, with matches against an out-of-form Newcastle, bottom-of-the-league Wolves, already safe Leeds and Manchester United, who may well have guaranteed Champions League football by then.
But the race between the other teams is where it gets interesting.
Bournemouth are in exceptional form, but they do have Manchester City to play still and have now drawn 16 matches this season.
Brentford have drawn their last five matches and face Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool in their last five.
Chelsea, although finally winning to reach the FA Cup final on Sunday, have lost their last five Premier League matches without scoring and face Liverpool away in their run.
After poor results in April, Everton and Sunderland seem to have missed their chance, which leaves the last team with a real opportunity coming in the form of Fulham.
Four matches, against Arsenal, Bournemouth, Wolves and Newcastle, represent a chance to gain potentially as many as nine points, which could well be enough to earn a spot in Europe.
If they can take anything from Arsenal away, that is a bonus, but the really important game comes against Bournemouth, with the Cherries last losing a Premier League match on January 3.
If Fulham can beat them, they will really fancy their chances to get the job done against Wolves and Newcastle, both of whom appear to have given up for the season.