Fulham produced a dramatic second-half comeback to defeat Brighton 2–1 at Craven Cottage, with Samuel Chukwueze scoring on his return from the Africa Cup of Nations before Harry Wilson sealed the win with a stunning late free-kick.
Brighton took the lead in the first half through Yasin Ayari, but Fulham emerged revitalised after the break and eventually turned the contest around.
Ayari opened the scoring in the 28th minute, cutting in from the left and unleashing a powerful strike from the edge of the box that beat Bernd Leno.
Brighton nearly doubled their advantage soon after, but Leno kept Fulham in the game by denying Kaoru Mitoma, before Timothy Castagne cleared Ferdi Kadioglu’s follow-up header off the line.
Fulham showed greater urgency after the interval and found their equaliser through Chukwueze, who had recently returned from AFCON duty.
Introduced from the bench, the Nigerian winger made an immediate impact, timing his run perfectly to collect a long pass from Joachim Andersen before calmly slotting the ball past Bart Verbruggen.
The momentum swung in Fulham’s favour, although Brighton continued to pose a threat. Danny Welbeck briefly thought he had restored the visitors’ lead, but his goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review. Welbeck later went close again, forcing Leno into a sharp save from a header.
As the match edged towards a draw, Fulham snatched a dramatic winner deep into stoppage time. Wilson stepped up to take a free-kick from around 25 yards after Charalampos Kostoulas fouled Josh King, curling a superb effort beyond Verbruggen to spark jubilant scenes at Craven Cottage.
The victory lifts Fulham to seventh place in the Premier League with 34 points, boosting their push for European qualification. Brighton, meanwhile, remain 12th, four points behind the hosts after surrendering a first-half lead.
