Calvin Bassey headed in the winner as Fulham earned a 2-1 victory to complete a league double over Nottingham Forest.
Chris Wood scored his 18th goal of the season to cancel out Emile Smith Rowe’s first-half opener, but the out-of-sorts visitors could not take revenge for their 1-0 defeat earlier in the campaign at the City Ground as Bassey netted the decisive goal in the second half.
Forest remain third in the Premier League but now sit only four points inside the top four having seen Manchester City and Bournemouth close the gap.
Fulham’s Emile Smith Rowe celebrates scoring
Fulham were much the better side throughout with Smith Rowe nodding them into a 15th-minute lead after Adama Traore had cut inside from the right and crossed with his left foot to the back post for the Fulham midfielder.
Traore terrorised Neco Williams in the first half, burning past the defender to deliver a headed chance for Raul Jimenez, but it was the winger’s tracking back to stop a Forest counter-attack that drew the biggest cheer.
Jimenez also impressed, sending a first-time shot that Matz Sels tipped behind with Fulham threatening every time they went forward.
Forest were uncharacteristically outplayed, yet their talisman dragged them level. Wood outmuscled Bassey and shrugged off Antonee Robinson to latch onto Morgan Gibbs-White’s lofted pass before sending a placed shot into the bottom-left corner.
Chris Wood celebrates scoring Forest’s equaliser
Fulham looked to hit back when Jimenez’s shot was pushed away by Sels, who made a string of fine saves to keep his side in the game.
He could do little about the winner which came in the 62nd minute. Jimenez flicked a corner on at the near post and Bassey arrived at the far post to head it back across goal into the right corner.
Forest tried to get back into the match by bringing on Callum Hudson-Odoi and switching to four at the back, but it was Fulham who went closest. Sels denied Traore, who deserved a goal for his performance, and then made a double save late on.
