David Fofana's dramatic double gives Burnley a draw against Fulham | first division

David Datro Fofana's first loan of the season ended with a suspension for refusing to shake his manager's hand after being substituted during Union Berlin's defeat against Napoli. On his home debut for Burnley, the striker was ready to hug each and every one of them, throwing himself into the crowd to celebrate the 91st-minute equalizer against Fulham. His only warning on this occasion was a yellow card but it was worth it.

There were boos as Vincent Kompany trudged across the pitch at half-time, his Burnley team two goals behind Fulham and facing their tenth home defeat of the season, but an hour later the atmosphere had changed dramatically thanks to a brace from Fofana. Despite the joy, the Clarets are seven points away from salvation and 15 games are played first division Farewell tour.

Burnley offer a lot of promise in the final third, throwing passes and creating promising situations, but they have lacked cutting edge. Fofana provided it, first finding space to return home unmarked after an excellent break, before equalizing.

“I think it was a turning point for us, the performance of Fofana, (Maxime) Estève and (Lorenz) Assignon. David showed today that he gives us something different and we will need it,” Kompany said. “He is a player who has played in the Bundesliga. “It is a very tough league and he returns with great experience.”

Fulham were in control before Fofana's arrival thanks to two first-half goals. Burnley debutant Assignon learned a valuable lesson by passing up a deflected cross thinking it would be a goal kick, but was awarded a corner. Andreas Pereira launched the ball to the near post, where João Palhinha sent it onto Sander Berge's shoulder and into the net.

Steam might have been coming out of Kompany's ears when Antonee Robinson's aimless clearance sailed over the Burnley defence, allowing Rodrigo Muniz to grab the ball and throw to James Trafford, who palmed the shot but he had to watch it bounce over the line. by conceding his 47th league goal in a very porous season.

“I saw at half-time a team that had character, passion and wanted to fight,” Kompany said. “The guys fought each other, came out and five minutes later they were gathered and ready to run, so that's what they did and they got their reward for it.”

The boos offered inspiration, while the introduction of another January signing, Estève, brought a calming presence to the Burnley defense, something they lacked for much of the season, while Trafford made impressive saves to keep the lead at bay. two. Burnley turned a Fulham corner into a counterattack, Lyle Foster sliding a pass down the line for Assignon, who lifted a cross over Bernd Leno to the far post. Fofana, on loan from unmarked Chelsea, headed into an empty net on his home debut to set up an intriguing final 20 minutes.

It was again Fofana who made the difference in the box when he dived to send Wilson Odobert's low cross beyond Leno after Kenny Tete had failed to cut out a long pass. There was a VAR review for a possible handball, but no infringement was found, leading to a second eruption. Draws won't be enough to keep Burnley in the league, but at least this comeback gave fans a rare moment of euphoria.

“Until the moment they scored 2-1, we were definitely the best team on the pitch,” Fulham manager Marco Silva said after their 11th winless away game. “Great saves from their goalkeeper kept them in the game, but we lost two points because of our mistakes and we were punished.”