A brilliant goal from Tom Cairney salvaged a point for Fulham and extended Crystal Palace’s winless run in the Premier League in an edgy encounter at Selhurst Park.
Substitute Cairney curled a superb shot in from the edge of the area, after Jean-Philippe Mateta had headed Palace into the lead.
The Eagles had the better of the match until they faded after half-time, with Raul Jimenez hitting the post with a header for the Cottagers just before the hour.
Fulham could have claimed three points with chances in stoppage time, but Dean Henderson made a fine save to deny Timothy Castagne, while Joachim Andersen blazed over from close range.
The result extended Palace’s run of games without a win in the league to four, while Fulham are unbeaten in four.
Palace are ninth in the table, one place above Fulham on goal difference.
Earlier on Thursday, Tottenham attacker Brennan Johnson agreed to join Palace in a deal worth £35m.
Palace played eight games in 25 days in December, their Conference League campaign and League Cup quarter-final defeat testing the options at Oliver Glasner’s disposal.
The Austrian stuck by the side that started the loss to Tottenham, meaning Glasner had made only 19 changes in the league this season, the fewest of any top-flight manager.
“We are in survival mode right now,” he said.
“As long as the legs did what we wanted them to do, we were OK. I have huge appreciation for the players – I can see their effort.
“We have so many games and the squad is quite short of numbers, but they give everything they have. I know these players will give their best in every single game.”
The imminent arrival of Johnson should give Palace a boost, with the 24-year-old attacker – Spurs’ top scorer with 18 goals last season – offering much-needed cutting edge to a team that have played 31 games this term.
There was little sign of lethargy once the early exchanges were done, with Marc Guehi going close with a stabbed shot from close range that forced a save from Bernd Leno.
Mateta rose to a cross chipped in from the right by Nathaniel Clyne to put Palace ahead, the Eagles taking advantage after the referee insisted Fulham defender Jorge Cuenca be treated off the pitch.
But it was a struggle after the break for the hosts, with a header from Maxence Lacroix blocked by team-mate Guehi after Leno had touched a corner on to the crossbar.
Palace were hanging on in stoppage time, and better finishing from Fulham would have meant Glasner’s side starting 2026 on a losing note.
Defeat at home to Palace on 7 December left Fulham in 15th – four points above the relegation zone – stirring the Cottagers into an excellent spell around Christmas.
Three wins in the league since that loss moved them into the top half of the table for the first time in three months and, with a good record against struggling teams, the trip to Palace may have held few worries for Marco Silva’s side.
They could have taken the lead in a chaotic sequence in which Emile Smith Rowe scuffed a shot, Harry Wilson had an effort saved by Henderson and Jimenez rolled the ball wide within a few seconds.
Their resilience after going behind paid off after the break, with Jimenez unlucky to see his header from a Kevin cross bounce up and off the upright.
Silva’s substitutions, from a bench with much more experience than Glasner’s, played a big part and Fulham’s leveller, after superb skill from Cairney, was thoroughly deserved.
They would have had a club record-equalling fourth straight Premier League win but for poor finishing from Castagne and Anderson in the dying minutes.
Palace travel to Newcastle United on Sunday before hosting Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Fulham entertain defending champions Liverpool on Sunday and Chelsea on Wednesday.
