Brentford 2-3 Fulham: Subs net twice in TWO minutes to win from behind
- Brentford threw away a lead to fall to a 3-2 defeat by London rivals Fulham
- The Bees can be overtaken by Brighton if they beat Liverpool on Monday night
- LISTEN NOW: It's All Kicking Off! Was Cole Palmer right to leave Man City?
There were fans arriving here joking that trips to Latvia on a Thursday night are overrated anyway – their attempt at coping with Crystal Palace’s FA Cup triumph meaning finishing eighth will do well to equal European football for next season.
It is unlikely, sure, but not impossible. If Chelsea finish seventh and win the Conference League, for example, that would do it, and Fulham certainly battled as if they still believed in this lively we-lead, you-lead, we-lead clash with fellow chasers Brentford.
Manager Marco Silva led the energy levels from the touchline, his face turning a similar shade of purple to his side's away shirts whenever he felt wronged by refereeing calls.
Silva even became embroiled in a ding-dong with a security guard manning the tunnel, that chap seemingly deciding to step in when he was venting with fourth official Farai Hallam.
That came when Jarred Gillett – less than 24 hours after acting as VAR in the FA Cup final when he ignored Dean Henderson’s handball which stopped Erling Haaland from scoring – awarded Brentford a penalty branded ‘incredible’ by Silva.
Nevertheless, Silva could eventually smile at full-time after his two substitutes in Tom Cairney and Harry Wilson secured the victory. That took the visitors to 54 points – a record tally in the Premier League – and kept them in this race for eighth.
Fulham came from behind in strong fashion to beat Brentford 3-2 away from home on Sunday
Marco Silva's side moved up to 10th, above Bournemouth and into the top half of the table
Meanwhile, Brentford's six-game unbeaten streak was halted and they remain in eighth place
‘It was an emotional game,’ Silva said afterwards. ‘We want more and to go as high as we can. Now we have more points to fight for against Manchester City.’
Brentford boss Thomas Frank added: ‘Of course we will try our best to finish eighth.’
Fulham opened the scoring after 16 minutes when Adama Traore crossed for Raul Jimenez to head beyond Mark Flekken. After setting up Fulham’s goal, Traore then helped Brentford by losing the ball to Bryan Mbeumo. He exchanged a one-two with Yoane Wissa and made it 1-1.
Gillett penalised Joachim Andersen for clipping the heels of Kevin Schade in the box, angering Silva. Mbeumo stepped up but Bernd Leno guessed correctly in saving his casual penalty.
Then came Gillett’s second pardon of the weekend as he declined to dismiss Wissa for fouling Antonee Robinson from behind. Silva’s mood worsened when Wissa then made it 2-1 by toeing in Christian Norgaard’s header after a long-throw set-piece.
Cairney, whose future is uncertain with his contract expiring at the end of this season, equalised by heading in Kenny Tete’s cross before another substitute in Wilson fired in a 25-yard curler for the win.
