15 February 2025
Fulham 2 Nott’m Forest 1
Fulham welcomed in-form Nottingham Forest to Craven Cottage. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are surprising everyone with their performances this season, currently sat in a Champions League spot in the table. If history was anything to go by, this could be a tough hurdle for the visitors, they had never won in the Premier League at this stadium.
Whether the hosts knew that fact or not, they started playing with an air of confidence. However, the visitors are brimming with it at the moment and looked to get on the front foot. Gibbs-White was pulling the strings in the heart of midfield and picked out Williams out wide. The Welsh midfielder cut inside onto his right foot before getting a shot off at goal, dragging it wide of the near post.
For the hosts, there are rare occasions where Adama Traore looks an absolute world-beater. Sadly for The Cottagers, these performances seem to come around as often as solar eclipses. That said, this seemed to be that day. He twisted and turned out wide before putting in a sublime cross into Jimenez in the middle. The Mexican rose to head wide of the target by the narrowest of margins.
His effort was so close to the target that some sides of the ground thought it had gone in. That was an early warning for the visitors, on their day, this Fulham team can upset anyone. It is the reason they find themselves in mid-table mediocrity however, riddled with players who are unable to put in these showings on a regular basis.
Forest just could not seem to cope with Traore whatsoever. As he caused havoc out wide once again, he lifted a ball to the far post to pick out Smith-Rowe. The former Arsenal midfielder did everything right as he kept his header down and gave the hosts the lead. Craven Cottage erupted as it nestled in the back of the net and was no more than they had deserved.
When Traore plays like this, you wonder just how good he could be if he spent as much time on the training pitch as he does in the gym. The last time we saw him put in a shift like this, he ended Kyle Walker’s Premier League career in the process. Now the Man City full-back is plying his trade in Serie A with AC Milan, a league where the only people with pace are the accountants of the clubs.
The Cottagers could have doubled their lead when Traore put in another sublime cross. It was right on the head of Jimenez but his effort was straight at Sels in the Forest goal. The Mexican had another chance when he sliced across the ball on the edge of the box. Only a fingertip save from the visitors’ keeper could deny them on this occasion.
Completely against the run of play, Gibbs-White clipped a perfectly-weighted pass forward towards Wood. As let the ball drop, it clipped his back heel and allowed him to take it under control. He shifted it to his left foot and bent a brilliant effort into the far corner to silence the crowd in West London. Nottingham Forest had punished the hosts for their lack of finishing at the other end.
After the interval, the hosts almost took the lead through the ‘dreadlock brothers’. Iwobi caused some problems out wide and swung a cross in. It came through a crowd of players to Traore at the back post. He got a shot away but a slight deflection took it wide of the target. This looked like a Fulham team who were not willing to let any points go home with the visitors.
Iwobi then proceeded to tee up Lukic on the edge of the box. He evaded the defender to give himself enough space to get a shot away but, once again, Sels was able to turn it wide at full-stretch. While it is the other, more creative, players that are getting all the plaudits this season their keeper has played one of the biggest parts in their incredible rise.
As the resulting corner came in, it was flicked on by Jimenez at the near post. Bassey then headed home to grab only his second goal in a Fulham shirt. It would be one to remember if it was to win the game for Marco Silva’s side. The curse of Craven Cottage seemed to be haunting Nottingham Forest once again in West London.
Unless you are a fan of one of the other teams competing with them for Champions League qualification, most fans would love to see Nuno Espirito Santo’s side get it. While others are expecting to see the wheels come off the bus between now and the end of the season, the football purist wants to see them back in the competition they won twice under Brian Clough.
Forest had a big chance to find a way back into the game when Hudson Odoi had the freedom of Fulham at the back post. He looked to bend a shot into the far corner but got his angles all wrong as Leno fell on it to make a simple save. The former Chelsea winger should have done a lot better from that position and it could prove costly.
Silva’s side almost put the icing on the cake as a cross came into the back post. Traore met it on the volley but seemed to scuff his shot as Sels gratefully pulled it into his chest. It would have capped off a superb performance by the Spaniard had it gone in. Now the hosts had to manage this game to ensure all three points in the capital.
The hosts had another chance to score as silky passing saw it at the feet of Muniz. His shot was parried by Sels before Reed reacted quickest to the loose ball. He struck a powerful effort towards goal but the Forest keeper was equal to it again, gathering it to take the pressure of his team. This could have been a far more comprehensive scoreline if it was not for him.
Fulham took all three points, much to the delight of the Craven Cottage faithful. This defeat did not really hurt Forest, who remained third in the table. However, the chasing pack are within touching distance now. The Cottagers moved to eighth in the table and are only a couple of wins away from reintroducing themselves to European football next season.
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