Fulham brought Nottingham Forest's unbeaten start to the Premier League season to a halt with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at the City Ground.
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There was very little to choose between two sides separated by a mere point at kick-off, but Raul Jimenez’s second-half penalty, awarded for Murillo's foul on Andreas Pereira, proved decisive.
Forest had started brightly as Taiwo Awoniyi missed an early chance, while Chris Wood saw a potential opener disallowed for offside in the 25th minute, with a VAR review confirming the on-field decision of referee Joshua Smith.
However, Nuno Espirito Santo's team failed to find a spark without the suspended Morgan Gibbs-White as Fulham's own impressive start to 2024/25 continued.
The result leaves Forest ninth in the table with nine points, with Fulham leapfrogging their hosts to move into sixth on 11 points.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
15 | 0 | 25 |
| 7 |
Brighton
BHA
|
15 | +3 | 24 |
| 8 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
15 | +3 | 24 |
| 9 |
Brentford
BRE
|
15 | +3 | 23 |
| 10 |
Fulham
FUL
|
15 | +2 | 23 |
How the match unfolded
It was Forest who had the first chance after a quiet opening as Awoniyi – making his first start of the campaign – shot wide after a long throw caused chaos in the Fulham box.
Wood then thought he had given the hosts the lead, but his prodded effort that crept just over the line was disallowed for offside, with a VAR check confirming the decision.
Almost immediately after the restart, another VAR check resulted in Murillo being penalised for stepping on Pereira's foot. Jimenez made no mistake from the spot, finding the top-right corner for his 50th Premier League goal.
With Forest chasing the match, Nuno brought on Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi and the latter went close to finding the top-right corner after a slaloming run into the box.
It was a nervy finish for Fulham, but they held out through eight minutes of stoppage time, surviving a late siege on their area to take three important points.
Nuno's changes fall flat
With Gibbs-White suspended following his red card at Brighton last week, Forest boss Nuno was forced into attacking changes.
He decided to go with the added physical presence of Awoniyi, who partnered top scorer Wood in a two-pronged attack designed to unsettle the Fulham defence. It worked to an extent in the early stages, with a series of set-pieces causing issues for the visitors.
Unfortunately for Forest, however, it seemed Awoniyi's inclusion prevented Wood from playing his natural game, reflected in the fact that he only touched the ball five times in the entirety of the first half.
Awoniyi was replaced by Elanga immediately after the break as the hosts looked to inject more dynamism, but it was Fulham who made the breakthrough before producing a resolute defensive performance.
Despite a positive start to the new campaign, Forest have now gone six matches without a victory on home soil, and things do not get much easier for them next time out, as they face in-form Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Fulham flying high
Marco Silva will have been delighted to see Fulham's strong form continue against a side who entered the match as one of just four unbeaten teams in the Premier League.
The away side had to work hard for the win and were not at their free-flowing best, but Jimenez – who also scored the opener against Newcastle United last week – was again on hand to seal the points.
Adama Traore, Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi have all impressed behind Jimenez this season.
But it was their defence that earned the plaudits against Forest, repelling everything thrown at them.
Fulham have conceded just five goals this season, though they will face a huge test next time out, when they visit the Etihad Stadium to take on champions Manchester City.
Club reports
Nott'm Forest report | Fulham report
What manager said
Nuno Espirito Santo: "It's frustrating and disappointing looking back at the game. The first half was not so good. The game was balanced. Unfortunately we conceded in the second half and it became hard."
Marco Silva: "It's great to see him (Jimenez) back at that level again after that bad incident when he was at Wolves. It was tough for him to come back."
Next Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Raul Jimenez has scored in each of his last three Premier League games for Fulham; the second time he’s done so in the competition after doing so for Wolverhampton Wanderers in November 2019.
Nottingham Forest have failed to win any of their last six league games at the City Ground (D3 L3); their longest such run since September 2021 in the Championship (8 games – D2 L6).
Fulham’s 11 points from their opening six games this season (W3 D2 L1) is their joint-most to begin a top-flight season after 2002/03 and 2003/04.
Raúl Jiménez has scored all eight penalties he’s taken in the Premier League, only Yaya Touré (11/11), Cole Palmer (10/10) and Dimitar Berbatov (9/9) has a better 100 per cent conversion rate in the competition’s history.