Harry Wilson was once more Brentford's tormentor as Fulham fought back to win an enthralling west London derby 3-2 at the Gtech Community Stadium to keep up their hopes of finishing eighth and possibly qualifying for European football.
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Wilson scored twice in a 2-1 victory in November's reverse fixture and was the hero again this time out with a second-half winner that came just two minutes after fellow substitute Tom Cairney's leveller.
Brentford had earlier recovered from Raul Jimenez's 16th-minute opener with Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa putting the Bees ahead, with the former also having a penalty saved by Bernd Leno.
Christian Norgaard nearly rescued a point late on but was thwarted by Leno.
Thomas Frank's side remain eighth for now but can be overtaken by both AFC Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion in the next two days, while Fulham's victory moves Marco Silva's men up to 10th.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 |
Brentford
BRE
|
37 | +9 | 55 |
| 9 |
Brighton
BHA
|
36 | +3 | 55 |
| 10 |
Fulham
FUL
|
37 | +2 | 54 |
| 11 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
36 | +12 | 53 |
How the match unfolded
Leno had already brilliantly denied Wissa one-on-one by the time Jimenez's powerful header proved too hot for Mark Flekken to handle after excellent work from Adama Traore.
However, Traore sloppily giving away possession sparked a chain of events that led to Wissa slipping in Mbeumo to drill past Leno and restore parity six minutes later.
But Mbeumo's penalty was then kept out by Leno’s diving stop after Kevin Schade was clumsily felled by Joachim Andersen.
Brentford did take the lead, though, in the 43rd minute when Michael Kayode's long throw was flicked on and then headed through the hands of Leno by Norgaard, with Wissa applying a touch on the line.
Fulham were level again by the 68th minute as substitute Cairney snapped a header into the bottom-left corner from Kenny Tete's deflected right-flank cross.
Incredibly, just two minutes later, Wilson put Fulham back in front with a tremendous 25-yard effort that nestled low into the left corner.
Norgaard's thumping header was excellently kept out by Leno as Fulham saw out the win in a pulsating Premier League encounter.
Brentford’s European hopes damaged
Mbeumo's outstanding form this season has reportedly seen him linked with a move away in the upcoming transfer window and if this was his last home appearance, then it was a rollercoaster outing.
The forward finished brilliantly for his goal, having outmanoeuvred Calvin Bassey, and he also took an outstanding free-kick that his team-mate Nathan Collins almost connected with.
But his first failure to score from the penalty spot for Brentford, having previously netted nine spot-kicks in the Premier League and 11 in all competitions, now looks costly in the context of a game that swung this way and that.
Wissa, who had joined Mbeumo on 19 Premier League goals in a ding-dong battle for the Bees' top league scorer, was equally dangerous but Frank will be scratching his head at what happened in the second half.
The Bees might have lost control but it looked like they were keeping Fulham at arm's length until that breathless couple of minutes when Cairney and Wilson struck.
Given eighth position could still possibly earn them European football, this defeat for Brentford is a real sucker punch with just one match remaining.
Wilson the derby hero again
The Fulham fans love to serenade Wilson with chants of "Who put the ball in the Brentford net?" and it was a chant ringing out again here.
Having been the hero with two goals against their west London rivals back in November, Wilson was once again the man to have the Cottagers' faithful heading home delighted, with Silva's decision to bring him and Cairney on proving a masterstroke.
It was a huge relief for Silva who will have been a frustrated man in the first half.
The Cottagers had already tested Flekken by the time Jimenez scored for the second consecutive Premier League game, with a goal that drew a delayed reaction from an away fanbase who had not realised he had scored.
If anything, though, the goal lit a fire in the home side and while Silva was clearly not happy with the awarding of the penalty, he will surely have been equally unimpressed by some of the defending on display by his side.
He was even unhappier when Wissa, booked shortly before, was not cautioned again for a trip on Antonee Robinson, though in fairness referee Jarred Gillet had shown similar leniency earlier in the game when Tete could potentially have received a second booking.
But a scarcely believable couple of minutes will have completely altered Silva's mindset. For now at least, finishing eighth remains a possibility for Fulham, who have now achieved a club-record Premier League points total of 54, ahead of hosting Manchester City next week.
Club reports
Brentford report | Fulham report
What the managers said
Thomas Frank: "Part of football unfortunately. I think we played well in the first half we were on top. We could have been out of sight. Missed a penalty and created other good situations and a lot of chances. It's very even in the second half, it's not a half we should lose 2-0 but we did. It's not the Gtech, it's the goal tech now! Everything is on. We will go into the last game of the season. Even if we finish top 10 then it is an unbelievable performance from this club and this team. We will do all we can to win at Wolves. Of course I am committed. We've just lost to Fulham, our local rivals. I am fuming."
Marco Silva: "I'm never satisfied and I want to push more. I know it's not silverware and we want to push in the competitions as much as we can. We want more and to go as high as we can. It's a great achievement and it's a statement from this group of players. Now we have more points to fight for against [Manchester] City. The plan is there and clear. The board knows already. The plan is there on the table. It is an ambitious one, let's see what we can do. The club wants to move forward."
Final PL fixture
Key facts
Fulham have won five London derby matches in the Premier League this season (Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and now two against Brentford); their most in a single campaign in the competition.
This was the first time that Fulham had opened the scoring, trailed in the match, and then come back to win in the Premier League (today being the 57th time they had scored first and then trailed).
Brentford pair Wissa and Mbeumo have both scored in a Premier League game on eight occasions this season; the most by a team-mate duo in the same campaign since 2021/22 (10 for Mohamed Salah/Sadio Mane and eight for Harry Kane/Son Heung-min).
Jimenez opened the scoring for the ninth time in a Premier League match this season; the joint-most by a Fulham player in a single campaign, along with Dimitar Berbatov in 2012/13 (9).
