Fulham conceded two goals in four minutes on Sunday to lose 3-1 at Arsenal and stay just one point out of the relegation zone in the Premier League.
Julio Baptista put the Gunners ahead in the fourth minute after heading in a cross from Emmanuel Adebayor at the Emirates Stadium.
Simon Davies levelled in the 78th minute after Jens Lehmann weakly punched the ball clear.
Davies lobbed the stranded goalkeeper, catching the defenders off guard to hit the back of the net for his first Fulham goal.
Adebayor restored Arsenal’s lead in the 84th, curling the ball past Fulham goalkeeper Antti Niemi after connecting with Cesc Fabregas’ pass.
Gilberto scored the third from the penalty spot in the 87th after Moritz Volz fouled Alexander Hleb.
Fulham have not won in 10 league matches and have 36 points, one away from the relegation zone.
”When you’ve worked as hard as we have, particularly in the second half, it is particularly cruel,” Fulham caretaker manager Lawrie Sanchez said.
”In the first half we should have been out of the equation and I said to the players at half-time, ‘Now is the chance to show what you can do,’ but ultimately we shot ourselves in the foot.”
Unable to win a trophy this season, Arsenal have already qualified for the Champions League and are closing in on Liverpool for third place. Arsenal have 66 points, one off the Reds.
After scoring, Baptista could have extended Arsenal’s lead, but he sent the ball wide in the 12th and 15th.
”We started well and created many chances but then slowly dropped our level and became average,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. ”We had many chances and couldn’t finish the game off. They never gave up and when they came back we had to have a good reaction again.”
After Fulham equalised, Davies delivered a corner in the 81st minute that United States midfielder Clint Dempsey headed over while unmarked.
Two minutes later, Dempsey, a second-half substitute, came close again with another header after connecting with a cross from Tomasz Radzinski.
On Saturday, it was: Manchester United 4, Everton 2; Chelsea 2, Bolton 2; Blackburn 4, Charlton 1; Aston Villa 2, Manchester City 0; Tottenham 3, Middlesbrough 2; Portsmouth 2, Liverpool 1; Sheffield United 1, Watford 0 and West Ham 3, Wigan 0.
Sam Allardyce resigned as Bolton manager on Sunday after eight years at the club.
Newspaper reports over the weekend said the former Bolton central defender would quit at the end of the season and replace Stuart Pearce at Manchester City.
In the League Championship, Crystal Palace beat Derby 2-0, ensuring Birmingham and Sunderland will be automatically promoted to the Premier League.
Derby can still be promoted through the play-offs. — Sapa-AP