Fulham leave it late to beat Southampton

Fulham came from behind to beat bottom side Southampton 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday to claim three precious points in their chase for European football after Ryan Sessegnon grabbed the winner in the 92nd minute.

With the score tied at 1-1 in added time and Fulham frantically searching for the winner, Adama Traore delivered a cross into the box where Sessegnon stooped low to divert a header into the bottom corner.

Marco Silva's Fulham moved up to eighth with 51 points, six points behind Aston Villa in seventh as the London side seek at least a Conference League spot.

"I feel amazing. Very, very happy. It was a difficult game, they made it hard for us, particularly in the first half," said Sessegnon, who also scored the 1,000th goal of the Premier League season.

"But credit to the boys we kept digging, had most of the ball in the second half and thankfully got the winner.

"We knew it was going to be difficult to come here. They've got the chance to play with freedom because, unfortunately for them, they are already down, so the pressure is off."

Southampton took the lead from a set-piece in the 14th minute when Ryan Manning delivered a cross into the box and Jack Stephens connected with a glancing header to help the ball on its way into the corner of the net.

Fulham had their chances but could not find the target while Stephens also made a vital interception when he got the crucial touch to prevent Sander Berge from close range as he attempted to get on the end of a free kick from Andreas Pereira.

The Saints sat deep in the second half while Fulham looked for an equaliser and Willian came close for the visitors when the Brazilian's shot came off the post.

Fulham finally levelled with a stroke of luck when Alex Iwobi found substitute Emile Smith Rowe making a run into the box and the midfielder's shot took a deflection off Jan Bednarek to loop over the keeper and into the net.

A draw looked on the cards as Southampton fans eagerly waited for the final whistle which would have moved them up to 12 points before Sessegnon popped up with his fourth goal of the season.

"Firstly we deserved the three points. From the first minute we were the team that took the control," Silva said.

"The win is what we needed... We are playing final after final after final and it will be like that every week for the rest of the season."

Bottom side Southampton have four games left to avoid being labelled the joint-worst team in Premier League history, a record set by the 2007/08 Derby County side which finished with 11 points.