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Fulham have scored only 13 goals in 12 league matches this season At a glance Raul Jimenez scores late winner Fulham control game before making breakthrough Fulham move away from relegation zone Sunderland slip to sixth in table PLAYER RATER Raul Jimenez scored a deserved late winner as Fulham beat Sunderland in the Premier League amid driving rain at Craven Cottage. The Mexican's goal came from Fulham's 18th shot of the game as their dominance of chances and possession looked set to go to waste. However, a fine cross from substitute winger Samuel Chukwueze - impressive after replacing ineffective club record signing Kevin in the second half - was turned home from close range by Jimenez. The quality of play was generally poor throughout, but Fulham were rewarded for their work-rate with only their second win in seven league games. They moved up to 14th in the table - three points above the bottom three - while Sunderland slipped two places to sixth. Kevin missed the clearest first-half chance when he headed straight at Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs from six yards out. Sunderland nearly made them pay 15 seconds after the break when Enzo le Fee fired narrowly wide, but it was a rare chance on a disappointing day for the visitors. Have your say on Fulham’s performance What did you make of Sunderland’s display? This video can not be played Fulham showed passion and deserved to win - Silva Fulham are having a poor season, but their home record could be enough to avert a relegation battle. Marco Silva's side have picked up 13 of their 14 points this season at Craven Cottage, and they had 70% possession in the first half hour and 57% across the game. Shots rained down on the Sunderland goal as heavily as the rain on the banks of the River Thames. Alex Iwobi attempted an overhead kick from the edge of the penalty area, while Harry Wilson - fresh from a hat-trick for Wales during the international break - came close on a few occasions. But Kevin, the only big-money signing Silva was able to make in the summer, was particularly wasteful and guilty of bad touches before being taken off just past the hour. His replacement, AC Milan loanee Chukwueze, was much more direct in his running and accurate with his crossing, and set up the deserved winner. Silva has reportedly been offered a contract extension with his current deal expiring this summer. This win could grease the wheels. This video can not be played Sunderland didn't do enough today - Le Bris Sunderland would happily have taken a point, but Regis le Bris' men were second best throughout. They had only four shots - their lowest total in a league game this campaign - compared to 24 for the hosts. For a long while Sunderland were indebted to Roefs. While Silva has complained about Fulham's lack of new faces this season, the Belgian must rank as one of the best arrivals for this campaign. Roefs made a particularly fine one-handed save from Kevin in the first half and comfortably dealt with everything else aimed at his goal - until Jimenez beat him to the ball late on. Sunderland are now without a win in three league games, their worst run since returning to the top flight in the summer. It is hardly reason for Le Bris to panic, but perhaps it is cause to rethink Sunderland's 5-4-1 formation, which is effective when stalling the biggest teams but leaves them low on creativity in games like this. Fulham travel to Tottenham and Sunderland entertain Bournemouth on 29 November. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 22nd November 2025 at 18: 58 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Marco Silva Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Régis Le Bris Formation: 5 - 4 - 1 Manager: Marco Silva Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Régis Le Bris Formation: 5 - 4 - 1 Premier League All competitions All competitions All competitions Fulham have lost their last two Premier League home games against Sunderland, with this the first top-flight meeting between the sides since a 4-1 win for the Black Cats in January 2014. Sunderland lost their last league game against Fulham, a 2-1 loss at Craven Cottage in the Championship in April 2018. They’ve not lost consecutive league meetings with the Cottagers since a run of three between 2002 and 2006. Fulham are unbeaten in their last 10 Premier League games against newly promoted opponents (W5 D5), winning their last three in a row – their longest winning run over promoted clubs in the division since October 2011 (4 in row). Sunderland won their last away Premier League game against a London club 2-1 at Chelsea in October, but the Black Cats haven’t won back-to-back away games in the capital within a single season in the competition since March 2001. Fulham have earned 91% of their points in the Premier League this season at Craven Cottage (10/11), the highest home ratio of any side in the competition this term. The Cottagers have won three of their last four home league matches (L1), as many as their previous 13 beforehand (W3 D5 L5). Sunderland have 19 points in 11 Premier League games this season (W5 D4 L2), their best tally at this stage of a top-flight campaign since 1999-00 (23), and best by any newly promoted side since 2008-09, when Hull City had 20 in their first 11 games. A win here would make it the best start after 12 games by a promoted side in the competition (22 pts) since Wigan Athletic in 2005-06 (25). Sunderland’s open play expected goals tally of 5. 1 is the lowest of any side in the Premier League this season. Indeed, 47% of the Black Cats’ non-penalty x G in the competition this term has come from set plays (4. 5/9. 7), the highest ratio of any side. Fulham have had 121 shots in their 11 Premier League games this season – an average of exactly 11 per game. This is their lowest average ever in a campaign in the competition. Only Brighton (76%) have scored a higher percentage of their Premier League goals this season in second halves than Sunderland (71% - 10/14), while conversely, Fulham have conceded 69% of their goals in the competition this term after half-time (11/16), the third-most of any side. Only Marcos Senesi (19) and Bruno Guimarães (18) have made more passes that have broken the opponent’s defensive line in the Premier League this season than Sunderland’s Granit Xhaka (15). The Swiss midfielder has created five chances from line-breaking passes in the competition in 2025-26, with only Bruno Fernandes (7) creating more. Match ends, Fulham 1, Sunderland 0. Second Half ends, Fulham 1, Sunderland 0. Raúl Jiménez (Fulham) is shown the yellow card. Substitution, Fulham. Timothy Castagne replaces Harry Wilson. Harry Wilson (Fulham) is shown the yellow card. Bernd Leno (Fulham) is shown the yellow card. Attempt missed. Emile Smith Rowe (Fulham) left footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Samuel Chukwueze. Fourth official has announced 5 minutes of added time. Substitution, Sunderland. Simon Adingra replaces Enzo Le Fée. Substitution, Sunderland. Eliezer Mayenda replaces Trai Hume. Samuel Chukwueze (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Chemsdine Talbi (Sunderland). Substitution, Fulham. Harrison Reed replaces Alex Iwobi. Trai Hume (Sunderland) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Attempt blocked. Raúl Jiménez (Fulham) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Samuel Chukwueze. Goal! Fulham 1, Sunderland 0. Raúl Jiménez (Fulham) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Samuel Chukwueze with a cross. Samuel Chukwueze (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Nordi Mukiele (Sunderland). Attempt missed. Joachim Andersen (Fulham) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Harry Wilson with a cross following a corner. Attempt blocked. Harry Wilson (Fulham) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Emile Smith Rowe. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.