Fulham Spoils Nottingham Forest’s Top-Four Ambitions with Slim Victory at Craven Cottage

Fulham extended their dominance over Nottingham Forest, clinching a 2-1 victory in their latest Premier League encounter, marking their fifth win in the past six clashes.

For Nottingham Forest, the season has been largely positive, with few challenges to contend with. However, today’s match presented a setback as they were punished for a sluggish start in London.

Adama Traore, a consistent thorn in the side for many clubs this season, played a pivotal role, darting past Neco Williams before delivering a cross to the far post, where Emile Smith-Rowe nod it in.

The Welsh fullback struggled against Traore’s pace in the first half, indicating he was in for a challenging day.

Shortly after the half-hour mark, Fulham might’ve felt hard done by, as Raul Jimenez’s attempt on goal was expertly saved by Matz Sels, preventing them from extending their lead.

Fulham learned a harsh lesson about missing opportunities when they were eventually equalised just before the interval.

Chris Wood brought down a lofted pass from Morgan Gibbs-White, expertly shifted to his left, and then slotted his 18th league goal of the season into the corner.

This goal seemed to galvanise the home side, who looked revitalised after the break. They regained the lead when Jimenez flicked a ball to the near post for Calvin Bassey to turn in from the back, marking his first goal of the campaign.

The second half proved uneventful, particularly in the attacking third, providing little incentive for Forest to mount a comeback.

In the closing stages, Callum Hudson-Odoi made an attempt at goal, but Bernd Leno was more than equal to the challenge, signalling the decline of Forrest’s chances.

That close effort was their last serious attempt as they suffered only their second loss in eleven league matches, a disappointing result in light of their European ambitions.

For Fulham, however, the victory bolstered their own aspirations for European football as they climbed closer to the top seven.