Nottingham Forest 3-1 Fulham: Hosts boost Premier League survival hopes with fine victory

Nottingham Forest boosted their hopes of Premier League survival with a convincing victory over Fulham at the City Ground.

Callum Hudson-Odoi opened the scoring after nine minutes, cutting inside and slotting home after Morgan Gibbs-White’s sublime threaded pass found the forward on the left-hand side.

Chris Wood continued his impressive goalscoring form 10 minutes later with a superb strike from range – his eighth in nine appearances – before Gibbs-White added a third, placing a low drive into the bottom corner.

It looked like Forest had the points wrapped up by half-time but a breathless second period began with Tosin Adarabioyo’s glancing header pulling one back for the visitors after just four minutes.

Chances were in abundance at both ends as Neco Williams hammered a shot off the bar and a fine Matz Sels save denied Adarabioyo a second, while Kenny Tete also fired against the underside of the bar.

The result leaves Fulham 13th, while 17th-placed Forest will travel to Tottenham on Sunday with renewed confidence about their hopes of staying up.

Forest hold on after ferocious start

Following Forest’s four-point deduction for breaches of Premier League financial rules – a decision they will appeal – they urgently needed to do their talking on the pitch to put breathing space between themselves and the bottom three.

A resilient performance against Crystal Palace last time out earned them a point and left them separated from 18th-placed Luton by goal difference.

Now they can take positives from not only a dominant first-half performance, where they created plenty of chances and shut Fulham out, but also for their resilience in the second half to foil the visiting side’s fightback.

Wood’s brilliant strike meant he has scored in three consecutive Premier League appearances, while Hudson-Odoi has racked up five goals in 22 Forest appearances – having needed 72 outings to yield the same return for Chelsea.

Forest could have scored more as Anthony Elanga’s effort clipped the outside of the post, while Divock Origi – still looking for his first Premier League goal since joined the club – struck wide twice after coming off the bench.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have taken a much-needed step towards safety with their first ever win over Fulham in the top flight, but they need to maintain this form to ensure it.

Early changes can’t revive Fulham fortunes

Inconsistent results have summed up Fulham’s season so far, with big wins against Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal offset by disappointing losses to Bournemouth and Burnley.

A nightmare first half saw boss Marco Silva make a triple substitution in only the 33rd minute, bringing on Willian, Tom Cairney and Adama Traore in an attempt to turn the game around.

For a spell it worked, but the visitors were unable to capitalise on a dominant period and eventually conceded a third goal in added time to cap off a miserable opening half.

They had to improve and did so as Willian’s dipping effort was just off target and Rodrigo Muniz went close to extending his eight-goal tally.

Traore cannoned a late strike off the bar too, but Fulham failed to replicate the heroics that saw them overturn a two-goal deficit against Sheffield United and earn a point last time out in a 3-3 draw.

The Cottagers have lost three of their last nine league matches and their away woes continue too with just one win in their last 15 on the road.