Alex Iwobi scored twice as Fulham moved into the top half of the scoreboard. first division with a victory over Brighton at Craven Cottage.
The Cottagers were caught out after Iwobi's quickfire goal by a good goal from Carlos Baleba early in the second half. But Matt O'Riley's own goal gave them the lead again and Iwobi scored his second to ensure Brighton had never won. Fulham in the First Division.
Only three minutes had passed when Brighton gave Fulham the lead after returning the ball to their goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, a few meters to the left of their goal.
The Dutchman was under minimal pressure but his pass towards Baleba on the edge of the area was intercepted by Iwobi, who stepped forward and slotted the ball into an empty goal before Verbruggen could pull back.
Brighton almost fought back when Jan Paul van Hecke's through ball sent João Pedro towards goal, but his shot was parried away by Bernd Leno.
Moments later, Fulham defender Calvin Bassey provided a one-man barrier as he blocked attempts by Baleba and João Pedro in quick succession. Leno prevented Brighton's best chance of equalizing in the first half after Kaoru Mitoma sent in a low cross from the byline.
O'Riley let the ball reach Simon Adingra, whose first shot from eight yards was parried away by an instinctive armbar from the Fulham goalkeeper. Fulham could have doubled their lead in the first-half stoppage, but Rodrigo Muñiz, starting his first game since August, headed wide Antonee Robinson's cross.
The hosts had another chance immediately after the restart when Harry Wilson chased down a high ball only to tip his volley wide.
Fulham called for a penalty when the ball hit Baleba's arm in the area but play was stopped and the VAR ruled in favor. Brighton withstood the initial pressure and responded by winning a corner which Van Hecke headed narrowly home.
The equalizer came moments later, and despite Brighton's clever short passing, it came thanks to Van Hecke's direct ball over the top.
João Pedro did a brilliant job of cushioning the ball into Baleba's path, and the young Cameroonian fired a low shot from the edge of the area past Leno and into the corner. But Fulham went ahead again with 11 minutes remaining when substitute Andreas Pereira took a corner. The ball brushed Bassey's head and entered the unfortunate O'Riley's back.
With three minutes remaining, Iwobi got away from two Brighton defenders before slotting past Verbruggen into the far corner to secure victory for the rising hosts.
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Iwobi told Amazon Prime that he felt he should score more often: “We wanted to get a win on the board after our last game against Spurs. There is no better place to do it than at our location.
“I should score more goals, but it was good to get them for the team. We know that Brighton likes to play and so do we. I was able to take advantage of the high press.
“We know Brighton like to play from the back so we came up with a structure and it obviously worked for the first goal. We take it though, it goes in, a goal is a goal. “We wanted a goal from a set piece because we were a real threat last season.”
Fulham manager Marco Silva told Amazon Prime: “It was a big three points for us in a difficult game. We started in the best possible way with the early goal but Brighton made it very difficult for us in the first half. They started with three at the back and it was difficult for us to connect with the wide players.”
