Brentford tightened their grip on a potential European spot with a 1-0 win over Ipswich Town, while Brighton stayed in the hunt and Fulham’s hopes took a major hit in a pivotal day for the Premier League’s mid-table battle.
Kevin Schade’s 18th-minute header proved decisive at Portman Road, giving Brentford their fourth consecutive win and lifting them to eighth, possibly enough for a UEFA Europa Conference League place depending on the FA Cup outcome.
Brighton kept pace with a 2-0 victory at Wolves, with Danny Welbeck’s landmark tenth league goal of the season and a late Brajan Gruda strike sealing the points.
The Seagulls now sit just behind Brentford on goal difference, eyeing a second successive European campaign.
But Fulham fell away from the pack, squandering a lead in a 3-1 home defeat to Everton. Despite Raúl Jiménez opening the scoring, Marco Silva’s side collapsed after the break, conceding twice in three minutes to Vitalii Mykolenko and Michael Keane before Bernd Leno’s error gifted Beto a third.
With just a few games left, eighth place remains up for grabs in a tightly contested four-way race involving Brentford, Brighton, Fulham and Bournemouth. The next few fixtures and the FA Cup final which would see Manchester City battle Crystal Palace could decide who earns a shot at Europe as a win for the Eagles, would see them claim the cup slot for the Europe.
