Brentford 3 – 2 Fulham

Ivan Toney’s penalty helped Brentford beat west London rivals Fulham 3-2 at the Gtech Community Stadium to move within a point of their neighbors who are seventh in the Premier League table.

In a thrilling first half, Ethan Pinnock’s (6) volley was Brentford’s quickest goal in the Premier League, although he could have scored a few times after a fast start to the derby.

Bryan Mbeumo, who was to blame for the apparent mishap at the start, hit the post with a free-kick, and Toney clipped the bar with his own set-piece strike on the stroke of half-time. But fortune favored Fulham when Andreas Pereira’s free-kick came back off the post for Manor Solomon to mark his first Premier League start with his fifth goal in five games in all competitions.

The visitors had another stroke of luck on the stroke of half-time when Sasa Lukic – returning to the pitch after Toney was caught in the face with a boot – tripped Yoane Wissa but was not shown a second yellow card.

Issa Diop did not escape punishment when he caught Christian Norgaard’s boot in the box after the restart, and Toney – perfect from the spot – scored his 15th goal in the Premier League this season (53).

He almost grabbed another when he tried to round Bernd Leno from the center circle, but it was Mathias Jensen who sealed the win and ensured that Brentford’s unbeaten run went to 12 games in the Premier League, scoring after a good run from sub Kevin Schade (85). Carlos Vinicius converted the rebound from Pereira’s shot in stoppage time (90+9) but it was too late for Fulham.

It was the first time Fulham had conceded more than once in a league game since November and, with the confidence in Brentford’s side now, Marco Silva’s side have the excellent Bees behind them in the race for a surprise European place.

How Brentford won the west London derby

After 16 days without a game, Brentford rallied for the first whistle and managed to strike three times before Pinnock found the net. Toney tried Leno and then Mbeumo missed the sitter from close range before seeing his low shot from a tight angle also saved.

Fulham were in a whirlwind with just five minutes and 37 seconds on the clock. Aaron Hickey’s slice shot came to Pinnock and his dig was deflected by Tim Ream, giving Leno no chance. Red flares were thrown across the pitch at the other end as the home fans celebrated.

They almost cheered when Mbeumo hit the post from a free kick.

Fulham finally got the ball after that, but struggled to find a way through, despite having it all. But it was Brentford who posed the threat in attack, with Toney clipping the bar from another free-kick.

But as the end of the half drew to a close, Pereira got into the act and fired his own free-kick against the woodwork and on this occasion the ball came back well for Suleman to nod in and maintain his incredible scoring record.

There was controversy just before the interval when Lukic escaped a second yellow card when he tripped Wissa as the Brentford forward broke away. The Serbian cut a nasty face after receiving a boot to the head from Toney but still counts himself lucky.

After the break, Fulham looked to pick up where they left off, with Pereira miscuing a difficult volley from close range but when Diop was penalized for Norgaard beating him into a loose ball in the area Toney converted Brentford’s 22nd penalty to swing the game. return to the front road.

With confidence flowing at the front, Toney almost caught Leno from near the halfway line, but it was sub Schade who provided the third – and ultimately crucial – intervention, running around Robinson to pull back for Jensen.

The Brentford fans were momentarily silent as Vinicius pounced on Pereira’s strike in stoppage time, but the final whistle came seconds later to confirm a memorable derby victory that could be the big moment of the season.

Opta stats – Bee buzzing

• Fulham conceded as many goals today (3) as in their previous six Premier League games.
• Brentford have scored more goals than any other team in the Premier League this season (17), with the Bees also conceding the most penalties in the competition (6).
• Ethan Pinnock’s opener (5:37) was Brentford’s earliest Premier League goal (before Ivan Toney’s strike against Aston Villa in August 2021 after 6:23).
• Fulham’s Manor Solomon became the first Israeli player to score in four consecutive Premier League appearances, while only Lionel Messi (5 in a row) has now enjoyed a longer scoring streak than Solomon (4) in five European leagues.
• Excluding shootouts, Brentford have scored each of their last 32 penalties in all competitions, since Ollie Watkins’ spot kick against Millwall in the Championship in October 2019.
• Excluding shootouts, Ivan Toney has converted all 22 penalty attempts for Brentford in all competitions, while only Yaya Touré (11/11) has a better 100% record in Premier League history than Ivan Toney (10/10).

What’s next?

Brentford travel to Everton in the Premier League next Saturday at 3pm before making the trip to Southampton on March 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Next to Fulham it’s a Premier League home game against Arsenal Next week at 2pm, live on Sky Sports. He then traveled to Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals next weekend.