Sessegnon snatches Fulham win at Southampton

Ryan Sessegnon scored his fourth goal of the season to secure the win

Ryan Sessegnon scored a dramatic late winner as Fulham came back from behind to beat relegated Southampton at St Mary's Stadium.

Fulham were staring at a fourth defeat in five games before substitute Emile Smith Rowe and Sessegnon scored to clinch a crucial win which will boost their push for a place in Europe.

After captain Jack Stephens had given the Saints an early lead, Smith Rowe equalised when his shot took a big deflection off Jan Bednarek and beat Aaron Ramsdale in the Saints goal with 18 minutes left.

It was enough time for Marco Silva's side to find the winner as Sessegnon met a cross from another substitute Adama Traore with a header past Ramsdale in second-half stoppage time.

The Cottagers climb to eighth, level on points with Brighton, who also left it late to beat West Ham on Saturday.

Southampton, who became the quickest team to be relegated in Premier League history with the 3-1 defeat at Tottenham on 6 April, were on course for a rare win after Stephens headed home from a Ryan Manning free-kick.

It was the centre-back's first goal since December 2019 and only the fourth scored by Saints at home this year.

Fulham's struggles in attack had given them hope with Smith Rowe's equaliser the visitors' first shot on target after they had failed to test Ramsdale from 16 previous attempts.

Bottom side Southampton remain on 11 points - matching Derby County's record-low tally from 2007-08 with four games remaining.

Substitutes inspire Fulham comeback

Fulham have slipped up in recent weeks as they battle Bournemouth, Brighton, Brentford and Crystal Palace for eighth place and a possible berth in the Europa League or Conference League.

With difficult games against Aston Villa, Everton, Brentford and Manchester City to wrap up the season, the trip to the south coast carried the weight of a must-win fixture for Silva's side, if they were to reignite their fading ambitions.

Halfway through the game at St Mary's it was looking like another day to forget for the Cottagers as they failed to find a way past a Southampton side who had let in 78 goals this season.

Willian's curling effort flew inches wide of Ramsdale's goal minutes before Southampton took the lead, while the Brazilian also hit the woodwork 11 minutes after the restart.

Silva, who had brought on Traore and Sasa Lukic at half-time, turned to his bench again in the 66th minute to introduce Smith Rowe, with the former Arsenal attacking midfielder drawing level after only six minutes on the pitch.

It was substitutes Tom Cairney and Traore who also set up Sessegnon's late winner which will give Fulham a fillip before the final weeks of the season, as they look to qualify for European football for the first time since 2011-12.

Saints left with familiar feeling

Southampton's miserable campaign continued with another painful defeat - their 27th of the season - despite showing some heart and resilience in Simon Rusk's third game of his second interim spell in charge.

The hosts made a bright start as centre-back Stephens' glancing header beat Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno, and they also managed to keep the visitors quiet for large parts of the game.

In fact, Rusk's side could have increased their advantage further - only for Kyle Walker-Peters to be denied by Leno and Kamaldeen Sulemana striking the post from a tight angle before Fulham's late revival.

As has been the case many times this season, an inability to sustain their intensity for the full 90 minutes proved to be Southampton's undoing.

Their next game at Leicester City, also relegated, now looks like the Saints' last realistic chance of collecting some points before games against Manchester City, Everton and Arsenal to round off a dismal campaign.