Promoted Sunderland suffered only their third Premier League defeat of the season as Raul Jimenez's late goal gave Fulham a 1-0 win in the driving rain at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Surprise packages Sunderland looked set to grind out a point but Jimenez broke the deadlock in the 84th minute as he slid in to convert a superb low cross by substitute Samuel Chukwueze.
It was hard on Sunderland but a fair reward for Fulham's persistence as they carved out the better chances.
Sunderland dropped to sixth with 19 points while Fulham eased up to 14th with 14 points after a second league win in their last seven matches.