Brentford maintained their push for Europe by beating one of their biggest rivals in the race, overcoming Fulham 3-2 and moving one point behind the Cottagers.
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The Bees had already gone close three times when centre-back Ethan Pinnock opened the scoring in the sixth minute, with his low strike deflecting in off Tim Ream.
Fulham equalised before half-time as Andreas Pereira’s free-kick came back off the woodwork and Manor Solomon followed up with a close-range header, scoring for the fourth straight Premier League match.
But Brentford regained their lead in the 53rd minute. Issa Diop fouled Aaron Hickey in the box and Ivan Toney scored from the spot, hitting his 15th Premier League goal of the season and maintaining his record of converting every penalty in the competition, with 10 from 10 attempts.
Thomas Frank then brought 21-year-old Kevin Schade off the bench in the 77th minute, and eight minutes later the winger set up Mathias Jensen to make it 3-1.
Fulham substitute Carlos Vinicius gave the Bees a late scare when he scored in the ninth minute of stoppage time, but there was no time for further drama.
Brentford are now unbeaten in 12 Premier League matches. Sitting ninth in the table, they are seven points outside the top four, with two matches in hand on fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
38 | +35 | 71 |
| 5 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +28 | 67 |
| 6 |
Brighton
BHA
|
38 | +19 | 62 |
| 7 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +5 | 61 |
| 8 |
Spurs
TOT
|
38 | +7 | 60 |
| 9 |
Brentford
BRE
|
38 | +12 | 59 |