Match Report Fulham (2) 3-2 (1) Brentford Premiership Match Day 03 22/23 at Craven Cottage Saturday 20th August 2022     KO: 15:00 Referee: Peter Bankes (Lancashire)

Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic

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Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic went from zero to hero as he put a hatful of wasted chances behind him to secure Fulham a sensational late 3-2 win over Brentford at Craven Cottage.

Mitrovic had missed a number of gilt-edged opportunities in either half before he finally proved the match winner when rising above Yoane Wissa for a trademark back-post header to settle the first top-flight meeting between these two west London rivals, in a game even beaten manager Thomas Frank admitted was "fantastic to watch".

There were just 44 seconds on the clock when Bobby Decordova-Reid bundled home after full debutant Jay Stansfield had hit the bar, as the hosts made a dream start.

Fulham Striker Bobby De Cordova-Reid

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Joao Palhinha doubled the lead with a thumping header from Andreas Pereira's superb corner, before the Bees finally registered their first shot of the afternoon in the 27th minute.

Even as the Cottagers' dominance faded they still remained in full control until Christian Norgaard volleyed home Mathias Jensen's corner a minute before the break to stun Craven Cottage.

Ivan Toney thought he had brought Brentford level four minutes into the second period as Thomas Frank's team re-emerged as a different prospect. Although he was denied by a tight VAR offside call, he would get his goal from Yoane Wissa's square ball with 20 minutes to go.

There was still time for a rollercoaster of a game to take another turn, however - and the previously out-of-sorts Mitrovic would be the man to make it happen, burying his 98th goal in a Fulham shirt in the final minute for the winner.

"I asked our players to start the second half strongly, to not give them the belief, but they are strong, they started to play more direct, and they started to create some problems for us," a victorious Marco Silva told Sky Sports.

"We let the game to their way, direct balls, and they are stronger than us in those types of situations. But I have to congratulate our players, even after they equalised, our reaction was really good. We started to play again, and getting that winner was a very good feeling."

Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha

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Looking to back up two creditable draws with Liverpool and Wolves with a first win of the campaign, Fulham gave themselves a dream start as Mitrovic's blocked shot fell for Stansfield, who struck the bar from close-range before Decordova-Reid stabbed home the opener with less than a minute on the clock.

The intensity of the home attack was too much for Brentford to bear, with Pereira pulling the strings in midfield and the hosts' front three constantly looking to exploit their high line. After surviving a number of near misses they fell two behind when Palhinha powered home a Pereira corner to put Fulham in full control.

A couple of stoppages around yellow cards for the hosts on the half-hour tempered their momentum slightly, but they had still been untroubled before Norgaard volleyed Jensen's corner at the near post out of nowhere a minute before the interval.

Match Stats	Fulham	Brentford
Goals	(2) 3	2 (1)
Scorers	De Cordova-Reid 1	Norgaard 44
	Palhinha 20	Toney 71
	Mitrovic 90	-
Goal attempts	18	13
On target	9	5
Shooting Accuracy	50%	39%
Possession	44%	56%
Passes	306	408
Passes Success	71%	75%
Crosses	21	11
Crosses Success	43%	36%
Corners	6	3
Tackles	12	12
Tackles Success	67%	42%
Saves	3	6
Fouls	13	7
Offsides	5	7
Yellows	3	2
Reds	0	0
source: SkySports

The hope Brentford took from their comeback goal stayed with them after the interval and Toney's great turn and finish four minutes after the break looked to have brought them level, before a VAR call ruled he was inches offside when he first received the ball.

Mitrovic should have restored Fulham's two-goal lead when played through inadvertently by a wayward Josh Dasilva backpass, but was denied by David Raya's superb reaction stop. His profligacy then looked like it may cost Fulham then when Toney did get his goal, tapping home from close range from Wissa's ball across the six-yard box to bring Brentford level.

The visitors looked the more likely to grab a late winner with their tails up from a second two-goal comeback in three games but were unable to turn their territory into more clear chances, and instead, Mitrovic wrestled back Fulham's lead in the final minute, rising above Bryan Mbeumo at the back post to head home Kevin Mbabu's cross.

That would prove the final act in a breathless derby in west London, and enough to earn Fulham the spoils and settle a historic afternoon at Craven Cottage.

Man of the match - Andreas Pereira
No one got into the final third more (eight times), or made more passes into it (12) than Pereira, who ran the show for Fulham for most of the 90 minutes at Craven Cottage.

His positioning, energy on the ball and passing all looked like that of a seasoned Premier League attacking midfielder and was not reserved for open play, with a pinpoint delivery from his corner finding the head of Palhinha for Fulham's second goal.

If the ex-Manchester United midfielder keeps up this sort of form for the rest of the season, then his £10m price tag will look like daylight robbery by the Cottagers.

Fulham: Leno, Tete (Mbabu 77), Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson, Reed, Palhinha, Pereira, Stansfield (Cairney 77), Mitrovic (Duffy 92), De Cordova-Reid

Unused substitutes: Diop, Ablade, Francois, Harris, Chalobah, Rodak

Goals:
De Cordova-Reid 01 (WHAT A START FOR THE HOSTS! Fulham take 57 seconds to take the lead in this West London derby, in the perfect start for the hosts. Pereira sets Mitrovic forward on the left, and after his shot is blocked there's a spell of pinball in the area with Brentford unable to clear. The ball bounces up onto the bar and down for Reid, who scrambles it over the line before Raya can get a hand to it.)

Palhinha 20 (Fulham are in cruise control, and Brentford are sinking without trace in the West London derby. It's another gorgeous delivery from Pereira from the corner to make it, putting it right on Palinha's head at the back post where he beats Wissa all ends up and powers it past Raya. FPL assist: Pereira)

Mitrovic 90 (Brilliant header from Mitrovic has just sent Craven Cottage into raptures! - it is a hopeful ball in from the right by Mbabu and there was the Serbia striker to arch a wonderful header past a diving Reya and into the bottom righthand corner of the goal.)

Booked: Palhinha (28,f), Tete (31,f), Mbabu (90+4,f)

Brentford : Raya, Henry, Mee, Hickey (Lewis-Potter 60), Jansson, Jensen (Janelt 60), Norgaard, Dasilva (Baptiste 74), Mbeumo, Toney, Wissa (Ghoddos 83)

Unused substitutes: Roerslev, Dervisoglu, Onyeka, Strakosha, Sorensen

Goals:
Norgaard, 44 (Brentford's first corner of the game gives them a lifeline from nowhere a minute before half-time at Craven Cottage. Much like Mitrovic's near miss on the volley earlier, this one's dropped in low for Norgaard to catch - and he makes no mistake, finding the corner of the net with a sweet effort from 12 yards.)

Toney, 71 (Lovely play from Mbeumo in midfield, threading the ball through to Wissa on the right of the box. Ream tries to show him wide but doesn't stop him squaring into the six-yard box, where Norgaard leaves it for Toney to tap home.)

Booked: Dasilva (56,f), Mee (79,f),

Referee: Peter Bankes (Lancashire)

Attendance: 21,798