Marco Silva seemed to scoff at the idea of Fulham reaching Europe this season, but after the Whites’ wonderful win over Champions’ League-chasing Tottenham Hotspur last night, the prospect of continental football returning to the Cottage doesn’t appear quite so fanciful.

Some of the football Fulham played in the first half as they started the London derby on the front foot was spellbinding. They could have easily scored two or three before the red hot Rodrigo Muniz fired them ahead just before the half-time break and the margin of victory might have even been greater once the Brazilian had bundled in his second of the evening, which came after Sasa Lukic had scored his first goal for the club from a right-wing raid by Timothy Castagne.

Consistency has been the scourge of Fulham’s ambitions this season, but quietly Silva’s side have put together an impressive run of form. The Cottagers have lost just two of their last nine league fixtures, with wins over Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur coming in that sequence, and have turned their home into the fortress that it became during Roy Hodgson’s time in SW6. They have now picked up more points by the banks of the Thames in their outstanding campaign last term and, with five more matches to come at home, there’s every chance that record will improve still further.

The success of West Ham in the continental competitions could boost Fulham’s ambitions as well. The Premier League might well secure five spots in the Champions’ League next season, which would see the top eight qualify for Europe. The English top flight notoriously throws up unpredictable results but the Whites should feel confident about travelling to rock bottom Sheffield United after the international break. The next away excursion after that will be to the City Ground and they also have London derbies against Crystal Palace and Brentford to come as well as a trip to Luton Town on the final day of the season. Improving their away record could pay rich dividends in the final reckoning.

The big difference between this season and last year, as Joao Palhinha noted during his post-match interview with Sky Sports on Saturday night, is that the Whites are now picking up points against the top sides rather than plaudits. They took four points off title-challenging Arsenal this season as well as beating Tottenham and United. Silva’s side are a match for anyone on their own patch this term, so tussles with the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool – who they have run close on three occasions already this season – and Newcastle United should be viewed as opportunities for further scalps rather than fixtures to fear.

The run-in looks relatively kind and Fulham’s squad seems strong now that the injury and availability crisis that afflicted the Whites around the turn of the year has eased. Bernd Leno, restored to the German squad last week, remains one of the league’s top goalkeepers and the back four – the first to keep a clean sheet against Spurs in 39 league games – seems to select itself. Lukic and Palhinha have formed a potent partnership in the middle of the park, whilst the three behind Muniz (Alex Iwobi, Andreas Pereira and Willian) each present different threat to the opposition. You could argue convincingly that Fulham’s substitutes bench looks as strong as it ever has in the Premier League era so why shouldn’t Silva – a serial winner – be targeting European football as well as registering the club’s highest ever points haul in a top flight season?