New Telegraph

EPL: Maja brace boosts Fulham’s survival bid

*Aubameyang hits hat-trick as Arsenal beat Leeds
*Man Utd drop points at West Brom, Neto stunner sinks Saints

Josh Maja marked his first start for Fulham with a brace as the Cottagers boosted their Premier League survival hopes with a deserved victory at Everton.
The visitors were by far the better side in the first half but were left frustrated as they missed several opportunities to score, with Bobby Decordova-Reid hitting the post and Harrison Reed driving over.
But their dominance was rewarded early in the second half when Maja – a deadline day signing on loan from Bordeaux – slid in to turn home Ola Aina’s cross from close range.
Maja then capped a dream full debut with a second, tapping in after Decordova-Reid’s shot had hit the woodwork.
Everton were poor throughout and although Seamus Coleman clipped the outside of the post in the first half, they rarely looked like scoring.
Joshua King did have the ball in the back of the net late on but it was ruled out for offside.
There is still plenty of work to do for Fulham to escape the drop, with this victory cutting the deficit to safety to seven points, but it will significantly boost their hopes they they can fight their way out of trouble.
Defeat for Everton, meanwhile, means they remain seventh on 37 points.
In London, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a superb hat-trick as Arsenal ended their three-game winless run with victory over Leeds United at Emirates Stadium.
Aubameyang opened the scoring in the 14th minute before doubling his side’s advantage from the spot towards the end of the first half.
Right-back Hector Bellerin grabbed a third on the stroke of half-time, with Aubameyang completing his hat-trick with a header moments after the restart.
But from 4-0 down Leeds grabbed two second-half goals through Pascal Struijk and substitute Helder Costa to give Arsenal a late scare.
At the Hawthorns, Bruno Fernandes’ stunning volley salvaged a point for Manchester United at struggling West Brom, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side lost further ground in the Premier League title race.
United moved back above Leicester in second place, but are now seven points behind leaders Manchester City, who also have a game in hand.
The Baggies took a shock lead after just 83 seconds as on-loan striker Mbaye Diagne outmuscled Victor Lindelof to head in from Conor Gallagher’s cross, reports the BBC.
United where finding it difficult to make inroads in a lacklustre opening period until Fernandes hooked Luke Shaw’s cross into the top corner with his weaker left foot.
The visitors improved in the second half, Mason Greenwood testing Sam Johnstone with a low strike and Scott McTominay seeing his follow up cleared off the line.
With time running out, skipper Harry Maguire leapt to send his header towards the top corner, but Johnstone tipped the effort against the post to deny United an injury-time winner.
Sam Allardyce’s side could have won it themselves late on, but Diagne struck his effort over the crossbar from six yards out.
Though they claimed a draw, West Brom remain in deep trouble at the wrong end of the table, second from bottom and 12 points from safety.
And in the first game of the day, Pedro Neto scored a stunning individual goal as Wolves came from a goal down to beat Southampton at St Mary’s.
It was a tale of two halves, with the visitors improving markedly as an attacking force after the break to hand Southampton their sixth successive Premier League defeat.
The home side controlled the opening period and took the lead when Danny Ings scored with a brilliant volley after he was picked out by Stuart Armstrong.
However, the game turned in the 52nd minute when referee Graham Scott awarded a penalty after ruling that Ryan Bertrand’s use of his arm to block Nelson Semedo’s attempted delivery was illegal. The Saints full-back and his team-mates appeared perplexed by the decision, but it stood and Ruben Neves converted from the spot.
Wolves, buoyed by the goal, went on the front foot and took the lead when Neto jinked his way past Jannik Vestergaard before threading his angled strike between Jan Bednarek and keeper Alex McCarthy.
Saints pressed for an equaliser but were thwarted by Wolves stopper Rui Patricio who made a double save from James Ward-Prowse and Che Adams.
Wolves go 12th in the Premier League table, a point and a place above Southampton.
RESULTS
Southampton 1 – 2 Wolves
West Brom 1 – 1 Man United
Arsenal 4 – 2 Leeds
Everton 0 – 2 Fulham

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