Raul Jimenez’s effort from the penalty spot handed Nottingham Forest their first defeat of the Premier League season.
Jimenez scored his 50th Premier League goal from the penalty spot but was not actually meant to the spot-kick with Fulham boss Marco Silva confirming after the game that Andreas Pereira was their designated penalty taker.
Silva confirmed Jimenez had apologised.
“He [Pereira] wanted to take it, we all want to score but I was confident that I would score,” said Jimenez. “We solved it.
“I am confident every time I’m on the penalty spot. If I score, everyone will be happy.”
How Fulham ground out an important win
It was a scrappy first half of action at the City Ground and that played right into the hands of the hosts, who had brought in the physical presence of Taiwo Awoniyi in favour of more technical players such as Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Chris Wood thought he had given his side the lead in the 25th minute after latching onto Murillo’s header, but saw his effort disallowed after straying offside at the back post.
Marco Silva’s team talk had an instant impact on his players, who looked rejuvenated after the break and quickly made their promising start count from the penalty spot.
Andreas Pereira went down after being caught by Murillo in the area and following a lengthy VAR review, Jimenez stepped up to make it four goals in his last four starts across all competitions.
Fulham’s Raul Jimenez celebrates his goal with team-mates
The game proceeded to open up at both ends of the pitch, as Forest went in search of an equaliser but left themselves susceptible on the counter-attack in the process.
Substitutes Anthony Elanga, Hudson-Odoi and Jota Silva sparked Forest into life but they were left constantly frustrated by the stoic defensive performance from their west London opponents.
Silva: It was a great battle
Fulham boss Marco Silva:
“Very pleased. You have to win these type of games. We did the plan as normal and dealt really well in the game.
“We knew before the match we needed to keep our organisation. The key is when we had the ball. We were not sloppy at all and did not lose the ball at all. Not the best game of football to watch.
Fulham’s Adama Traore and Nottingham Forest’s Alex Moreno battle for the ball
“Tight game for both teams and not many chances. Great battle for the boys and we deserved the three points.”
Nuno queries Fulham penalty
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo:
“Not the best game from ourselves, we did not play as well as we wished to. We had good opportunities to score but disappointed for the fans. Tough one to take.
“We have a plan, sometimes unpredictable situations happen. The second half, the game became stretched.
“There was no intention [with the penalty]. I don’t want to go much further. There are incidents in Fulham’s box that were not well reviewed. Football is a game of contact.”
Forest substitution changed the game for all the wrong reasons
Sky Sports‘ Patrick Rowe:
“It is easy to see why Forest were unbeaten heading into this fixture after watching their first-half performance.
“They suffocated Fulham prior to the break and restricted any space given to the likes of Alex Iwobi, Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traore.
“This, coupled with the threat they posed in the air from Murillo, Chris Wood and the returning Taiwo Awoniyi, meant the Reds headed into the interval as the better side.
“Forest came close to leading through Wood but were denied the opener by a mere matter of inches – but after half-time it was a different story.
“Nuno Espirito Santo sacrificed the physicality of Awoniyi for the more technically gifted Anthony Elanga – which is a fair decision.
“It was clear after the restart that more space was available for Fulham, and they quickly made the pressure count from the penalty spot.
“The Forest boss admitted it was not “the best” game from his side and that it became “stretched” after the break.
“He might not be so quick to change the set-up with his side in control next time round.”
