first eleven fixtures of the 2008–09 season but scored his first goal in a 1–1 away draw at Portsmouth on October 26 after coming on as a substitute. He replaced Zoltan Gera in the side and scored his first home goal of the season in a 3–0 win over Middlesbrough on December 20. Eight days later he scored twice in the West London derby against Chelsea which included a last-minute equalizer in a 2–2 home draw. On February 24, 2009, Dempsey scored the first FA Cup goal of his career in a 2–1 home win over Swansea City in the fifth-round. His final home goal of the season came in a 2–1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers on March 11. Fulham came from a goal down to beat Manchester City 3–1 away from home as Dempsey scored two goals on April 12. For the second successive season, Dempsey ended as Fulham's top Premier League goalscorer joint with Andrew Johnson with seven goals. These goals helped Fulham secure a seventh-place finish in the Premier League, the highest in the club's history, and confirmed their qualification for the newly formed UEFA Europa League for the following season. 2009–10 season On August 13, 2009, Dempsey signed a contract extension to remain with Fulham through 2013.On August 20, he scored his first goal in European competition, in the new Europa League, netting Fulham's second goal in a 3–1 win against Amkar Perm in the play-off round. On December 30, La Gazzetta dello Sport named Dempsey as one of the top eleven Premier League players of the season. On January 17, 2010, Dempsey suffered a suspected cruciate knee ligament injury in a 2–0 away defeat to Blackburn Rovers. On March 11, Dempsey returned, coming on in the last minute of Fulham's loss away to Juventus, and then completed 72 minutes of Fulham's 3–0 away loss to Manchester United in the league. On March 18, Dempsey came off the bench against Juventus in their second-leg, last-16 tie in the Europa League and scored the winner on a long chip shot. Fulham won the game 4–1 and this game resulted in Fulham winning an award, as well as Dempsey receiving an award for his goal. The Guardian suggested that the goal "might become the most famous goal in Fulham's history". On May 12, Dempsey replaced Bobby Zamora in the 55th minute of the 2010 UEFA Europa League Final,