Guehi's Late Hammer Shatters Fulham's Grip at Craven Cottage

À Voir Score Futmetrix: 66/100. Crystal Palace's refusal to surrender—embodied in Marc Guehi's brutal 87th-minute strike—transforms what looked like Fulham's redemption into another chapter of near-misses and heartbreak.

The Pendulum Swings Three Times

From the first whistle at Craven Cottage, this was a match obsessed with momentum. Eddie Nketiah opened the floodgates in the 20th minute—a clinical finish off Adam Wharton's assist that sent Palace into the lead. Fulham, though, refused to fold. Harry Wilson's leveller just before half-time, courtesy of Raúl Jiménez's assist, restored equilibrium and signalled the hosts' intensity. The lead changed hands three times across ninety minutes—a brutal rhythm that exposed both sides' defensive fragility and attacking ambition.

VAR Intervenes; Drama Escalates

The 53rd-minute VAR intervention—Emile Smith Rowe's disallowed goal for offside—felt like a watershed moment. Fulham's possession dominance (63%) and 87% pass accuracy suggested control, yet Palace's clinical edge (1.65 xG vs. Fulham's 0.67) hinted at something darker lurking beneath the surface. The hosts peppered 11 shots; Palace matched that with five on target and lethal precision.

The Turning Point: 87 Minutes of Agony

Then came the knife twist. Guehi, a centre-back, rose to meet Yeremy Pino's delivery in the 87th minute and planted a header that bypassed every Fulham defender's worst nightmare. Not a scrambled equaliser. Not a deflection. A pure, unanswerable punch from the back line. Palace's counter-attacking balance had been compromised all match—they surrendered 37% possession—yet their ruthlessness in transition proved the difference. Fulham's fourth disallowed goal, their VAR nightmare, their inability to convert dominance into points: all converged in that single moment.

What This Means

For Palace (4th, 26 points), this is a statement. For Fulham (15th, 17 points), it's another cruel reminder that possession and territory mean nothing without the clinical edge. The stakes of a mid-table battle just shifted dramatically—Palace solidify their European credentials; Fulham sink deeper into relegation anxiety. At Craven Cottage, the home crowd's roar turned to silence in ninety seconds.