Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice as Claudio Ranieri won his first match as Fulham boss to pile pressure on Southampton manager Mark Hughes with a 3-2 win at Craven Cottage.
Stuart Armstrong netted a brace – his first Saints goals – either side of strikes from Mitrovic and Andre Schurrle for Fulham.
Mitrovic, who rivalled Armstrong as the game’s star performer, restored the hosts’ lead with a crisp volley after 63 minutes and Fulham held on to win 3-2 on Ranieri’s Premier League return.
The Cottagers were facing the prospect of a seven-match losing streak in the league for the first time in 56 years, but instead they won for a second time this season, following the August 26th defeat of Burnley, to move off the foot of the table.
Southampton have not won since September 1st against Crystal Palace and Hughes, who had an 11-month stint at Craven Cottage in 2010-11, has just three wins in 21 league games since his appointment in March.
Everton climbed to sixth place in the Premier League table after battling to a 1-0 victory over Cardiff at Goodison Park.
The visitors made life difficult for the Toffees but Marco Silva’s side ultimately deserved the win given to them by Gylfi Sigurdsson’s 59th-minute goal, securing a fourth consecutive home success.
Jamie Vardy came off the bench to rescue a point for 10-man Leicester as they battled back to draw 1-1 at Brighton.
The forward was only deemed fit enough to be named as a substitute for the Foxes following a groin injury, but he fired home a second-half penalty to cancel out Glenn Murray’s early header and secure a 1-1 draw.
Leicester's hopes of taking anything away from the Amex Stadium took a hit when James Maddison was sent off inside the opening half-an-hour.
The midfielder was cautioned twice in two minutes, having overcome a knee problem to start for Claude Puel’s side, who have now had four dismissals in the league this season.
