Antoine Semenyo’s goal inside the first minute of the game was enough to secure Andoni Iraola’s AFC Bournemeouth side all three points in a crucial Monday night clash.
The result means the Cherries leapfrog Fulham into eighth place, which is set to be a Conference League spot come the end of the season.
It is Bournemouth’s first win in the league since February and their first clean sheet in nine games.
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Player Ratings:
Kepa Arrizabalaga: 9
The club awarded Kepa Man of the Match, and it was well deserved.
The Spaniard kept Fulham out in the second half with seven saves, with 0.91 expected goals (xG) prevented.
It is his first clean sheet for the Cherries in nine games and Kepa looked very assured in between the sticks.
Having come under criticism in recent weeks, the Chelsea loanee performed very well.
Adam Smith: 7
A very assured performance from the Cherries' captain which of course helped achieve the clean sheet.
Most notable were the overlapping runs on the right flank that Smith kept making.
The Cherries have missed those bombing runs by a full-back on the right flank and it offered Iraola’s side an alternative way of attacking.
Marcos Senesi: 6
It was great to see Senesi back in the starting eleven for the Cherries, however the Argentinian never really looked settled.
An error at the back saw Rodrigo Muniz through on goal, however the Brazilian missed with a poor effort.
There were many misplaced passes and a reckless challenge that on another day could have seen a red card.
Senesi was substituted at half-time for Illia Zabarnyi, with Iraola not wanting to take much of a risk.
Dean Huijsen: 8
The birthday boy had a great performance which won him a Sky Sports Man of the Match award.
The Spaniard made 13 clearances and looked very assured on the ball when with possession.
After some shaky performances, it was great to see Huijsen back to his best against Fulham.
Milos Kerkez: 8
Kerkez once again proved to be a great threat down the left-hand side, causing Fulham problems.
The first half saw Kerkez have great interplay with Dango Ouattara, working well down the line.
The second half saw a different side to the Hungarian. He had to show his defensive awareness and discipline to help keep the Cottagers out and did so very well.
Kerkez also appears to be the Cherries’ new corner taker from the left-hand side and delivered some brilliant balls into the box.
This is something Bournemouth have been missing.
Tyler Adams: 7
Adams once again ran the midfield operations very well and was unlucky to not have scored due to a great save from Bernd Leno.
Fatigue grew in the second half and Fulham had more legs in the midfield so it looked like Adams and Lewis Cook were being overran.
Despite that, Fulham could not get through and Adams once again showed great defensive awareness and discipline to see out the win.
Lewis Cook: 7
A solid performance from Cook saw him lock down the midfield with Adams.
He made 31 passes of his 39 attempted and had five defensive recoveries which helped the Cherries see out the clean sheet.
This was a great performance considering Cook is still adjusting to playing back in midfield after his long stint at right-back.
Antoine Semenyo: 8
The Ghanaian finally ended his goal drought on Monday night after tucking away a neat finish in the first minute.
The goal showed Semenyo’s class and showed he had regained his confidence going forward.
It was a quiet second half going forward for the Cherries, so there was little action for Semenyo. However, it was his goal that claimed all three points.
Alex Scott: 7
It was Scott’s best game playing in the '10' role for the Cherries on Monday night.
Scott provided the assist for Semenyo’s goal; a strong run through the midfield, fighting off multiple Fulham players.
He looked neat and tidy with the ball when he had possession and was unlucky not to have a goal of his own.
Like Semenyo, a quiet second half with little to talk about going forward due to sustained Fulham pressure.
Dango Ouattara: 7
A strong performance from Ouattara, who needed it after a mixed run of games.
The Burkina Faso international completed the most dribbles of any player and at points made it look easy with his footwork.
There were not many shots on target for Ouattara, however he did look a constant threat combining with Kerkez on the left-hand side.
Evanilson: 7
It was a quiet evening for the Brazilian, who for the second half received little to no service, unfortunately.
His big moment came in the first half. A deep ball from Kerkez was nodded down by Scott to Evanilson, whose effort crashed against the crossbar.
Evanilson and Bournemouth fans felt aggrieved in the second half as they believed the Cherries should have been awarded a penalty.
On replay, it looked like Leno had wiped Evanilson out in the box, however VAR deemed Leno to have made contact with the ball first.
Overall, it was a quiet evening for Evanilson but he was unlucky to have not scored, with his effort hitting the woodwork.
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Substitutes:
Illia Zabarnyi: 7
The Ukrainian looked very assured when he came on at half-time and brought a sense of calm to the Cherries backline.
Zabarnyi won all of his duels and brought stability to the Cherries team, who needed it facing constant Fulham pressure.
Marcus Tavernier: 6
It was great to see Tavernier back from injury and give Iraola another option to play in the 10 position.
The Cherries had limited attacking opportunities, so Tavernier could not really affect the game going forward.
However, the Englishman did bring energy to the team when the game started to peter out.
Julio Soler: N/A
Soler came on to make his Premier League debut and did make some defensive clearances to help see out the win.
However, due to only playing limited minutes, it is difficult to give him a definitive rating.
