Fulham missed the chance to confirm instant promotion back to the Premier League after suffering a shock defeat at Derby, who kept their slim Championship survival hopes alive.
After Nottingham Forest were beaten at Luton earlier on Good Friday, Marco Silva’s runaway leaders headed to the iPro Stadium for an evening kick-off knowing that victory would rubber-stamp their immediate return to the top-flight with five matches to spare.
And prolific Fulham looked to be firmly on course to begin their promotion party, with Fabio Carvalho beating Derby goalkeeper Ryan Allsop just before the 20-minute mark after fine interplay with Bobby Decordova-Reid finished off a typically incisive passing move.
The Portuguese winger is expected to join Liverpool when his contract expires this summer, with Shakhtar Donetsk’s Israeli international Manor Solomon lined up as his replacement in a £7million transfer.
However, Wayne Rooney’s Derby hit back after the interval, with Crystal Palace loanee Luke Plange enjoying a starring role as he provided an initial close-range finish before forcing Tosin Adarabioyo into a decisive own goal 17 minutes from time.
Fulham thought they had got back in front when record-breaking top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic slotted home at 1-1, only for the Serbian striker to be quickly denied by the offside flag.
Other results could see the Cottagers promoted by the time they host Preston in their next fixture at Craven Cottage on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, an unlikely victory sees Derby rise from bottom to 22nd and level on points with Peterborough, who beat Blackburn earlier in the day.
Both sides are nine points adrift of safety with four games left to play after Reading secured a last-gasp win over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
