Fulham earned their first Premier League win of the season as they defeated Hull City 1-0 on Saturday, courtesy of a first-half goal from Alex Iwobi. 

Alvaro Arbeloa's side produced a dominant display to end their six-match winless start to the campaign, though their long-awaited victory was soured by Ryan Sessegnon's late dismissal. 

Fulham dominated possession from the outset, as Iwobi went close to an early opener with a powerful strike that took a sharp deflection off John Egan before sailing narrowly over the crossbar. 

Alvaro Arbeloa’s side continued to probe for a breakthrough as Sander Berge and Timothy Castagne combined neatly – the latter firing into the side netting – before Oscar Bobb stung Konstantinos Tzolakis’ palms with a low free-kick. 

The hosts’ dominance finally bore fruit just past the half-hour mark as Brooke Norton-Cuffy was caught in possession, allowing Berge to tee up Iwobi for a superb curling strike into the bottom corner. 

Tzolakis was called into action just before the break to deny Fulham a deserved second, keeping out Josh King’s effort across goal with an outstretched leg after the midfielder was slipped through by Bobb. 

King threatened again shortly after the restart, with Bobb smartly cutting out Semi Ajayi’s loose pass and playing a fantastic one-two with the midfielder, who was once more thwarted by Tzolakis’ outstretched leg. 

Though the Tigers posed minimal threat at the other end, Fulham continued to squander chances. 

Tzolakis produced another superb stop just before the hour mark, brilliantly denying Iwobi’s close-range effort after Garcia cushioned King’s looping cross into the Nigerian’s path. 

Garcia then went close himself in the 74th minute but could only guide Iwobi’s floated back-post cross straight onto the crossbar, leaving the Craven Cottage faithful on edge. 

A frenetic end to the match saw Mohamed Belloumi twice fire wide of the net before Sessegnon was given his marching orders for an unblushing late challenge on Robinio Vaz in the fourth minute of stoppage time. 

THREE HUGE POINTS.

— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) October 17, 2026

Fulham finally play to their potential 

Fulham had endured a difficult start to the season, failing to win any of their opening six matches despite performances that arguably deserved more.  

But Arbeloa’s side were full value for the victory on this occasion, producing 1.44 expected goals (xG) to Hull’s modest 0.16 xG. 

Indeed, they registered 10 first-half shots – their second-most across the opening 45 minutes in a Premier League match this season, behind only their 13 against Crystal Palace in September. 

Iwobi accounted for three of those attempts, with his winner taking him to 36 Premier League goals, drawing him level with Peter Odemwingie as the joint-sixth highest-scoring Nigerian in league history. 

His standout performance saw him become the first Fulham player since Bryan Ruiz against Swansea City in December 2012 to register at least five shots (five), create three chances (three), and complete 50 passes (57) in a Premier League match. 

Hull, meanwhile, may have feared the worst as soon as Iwobi broke the deadlock, with the Tigers now winless in their last seven Premier League matches when conceding first, dating back to a victory over Middlesbrough in April 2017. 

Indeed, Sergej Jakirovic’s side have seen their bright start to the season fade slightly, having now gone five league matches without a win.  

Against Fulham, they also failed to register a single shot on target in a Premier League match for the first time since facing Crystal Palace in May 2017.