Strikers, who needs them?
Well, for the most part, it wasn't Graham Potter, as the new West Ham manager went into his first Premier League game without a recognized leader on the pitch, but took all three points.
Two goals in two first-half minutes from midfielders Carlos Soler and Tomas Soucek before a third from Lucas Paqueta after an hour gave Potter his first win in charge of the Hammers.
Potter needed a striker late on as the only fit Danny Ings came off the bench to set up West Ham's third, but more than anything he needed a lot of luck as only a stunning miss from Adama Traore on time injury time that secured this frenetic victory after Alex Iwobi scored twice with crosses.
Fulham attempted 21 shots, West Ham four. The Hammers also conceded two of their goals, after Andreas Pereira passed the ball through his own goal straight to Soler for the first goal before Ings closed in on Fulham goalkeeper Leno to set up Paqueta.
“They were gifts, but because of our pressure,” Potter said. 'We force mistakes. Sometimes we were lucky, but where we are with the players we are missing, I am delighted with the victory.
Graham Potter earned a hard-fought victory in his first Premier League game in charge of West Ham.
Carlos Soler took advantage of a defensive howl to give West Ham the lead against Fulham
Tomas Soucek doubled West Ham's lead just two minutes later after good work from Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
'We had to be creative with the attacking options we had. The performance was one of great effort, great unity and understanding that sometimes we must suffer.
'It was far from perfect in the long term, but it is a base. There's a lot to do, but it's a great start.'
Injuries to Niclas Fullkrug, Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen have left West Ham desperate to sign a striker in January but, for now, Potter opted to play Paquetá up front and left Ings on the bench.
Fulham dominated the early stages and should have taken the lead. Harry Wilson volleyed against the crossbar in the sixth minute and Raúl Jiménez also hit the woodwork at the end of the first half.
Twenty-five minutes later West Ham still had not touched the ball in the Fulham area. The first was when Max Kilman launched a Soler free kick into the net, but it was disallowed for offside.
The disallowed goal might not have given West Ham the lead, but it gave them life and they finally started playing.
At his inauguration, Potter described getting the chance to manage West Ham as a “Christmas for grown-ups”, so how kind of Pereira to gift-wrap the first goal of his Premier League reign.
Two minutes later, West Ham got another. Mohammed Kudus lifted the ball and found Soler, whose cross found Aaron Wan-Bissaka at the far post to cut it in and Soucek scored.
Alex Iwobi scored twice to ensure Fulham stayed in the game until the final minute.
Iwobi's two goals were crosses that reached the bottom after being missed by his teammates.
There was no luck in that goal. Potter will want to see a lot more of this in the upcoming games.
Potter had never failed to win a Premier League game in which his team led by two goals at half-time but, more importantly, he had never managed West Ham before.
His team were unable to maintain their lead against Aston Villa in the FA Cup and, just six minutes into the second half, the excellent Iwobi produced a cross that beat everyone and flew in at the far post.
Fulham continued to press and that forced Potter to turn to his only fit striker just after the hour mark. At that point, Ings did his part. He closed down Leno and pushed the ball straight to Paquetá, who earned his comeuppance for a decent shift in an unfamiliar position.
Lucas Paqueta sealed the points after a moment of horror for Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno
Marco Silva was left to rue his team's defensive errors on a frustrating night for the visitors.
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But of course, that wasn't going to be the end. Iwobi scored with another cross and it was only an excellent late save from Lukasz Fabianksi to deny Jimenez and a notable miss from Traore that ensured West Ham took the win.
“We were penalized for our own mistakes,” Fulham manager Marco Silva said.
'We were very dominant until we conceded the first goal. We hit the crossbar and West Ham were nowhere near our area. It is clear that the result did not reflect the teams on the field. “The best team didn't win the game.”
Potter said this week that panic buying a striker in January would not solve all of West Ham's problems. You're right about that. It's not just the injury problems that he has to solve, there are also many defensive problems.