September 21, (THEWILL) — Fulham completed a remarkable comeback to defeat Brentford 3-1 in the West London derby at Craven Cottage, with Alex Iwobi delivering a goal and assist performance that inspired the hosts to consecutive English Premier League victories for the first time since February.
Marco Silva’s team dominated early possession and created chances for Harry Wilson and Saaa Lukic, but fell behind when Mikkel Damsgaard intercepted Josh King’s pass and fired a clinical right-footed finish past Bernd Leno.
The Cottagers nearly conceded a second goal after a sloppy backpass allowed Kevin Schade a clear opportunity, though the German striker was forced wide and missed the target.
Fulham continued pressing forward and came close to equalising when Caoimhin Kelleher spilled Ryan Sessegnon’s powerful shot to Rodrigo Muniz, whose chipped effort sailed over the crossbar.
Fulham transformed the match completely with two goals in quick succession during the first half.
Iwobi equalised with a precise first-time finish following a scramble in the penalty area, then immediately provided the assist for Wilson to curl home a superb left-footed strike. The momentum shift proved decisive for Silva’s side.
The hosts extended their advantage just five minutes after the restart when Sessegnon’s whipped cross deflected off Ethan Pinnock into his own net. Muniz thought he had added a fourth goal with a fierce strike, but VAR controversially ruled it out for a foul on Nathan Collins.
Brentford’s Dango Ouattara came closest to reducing the deficit when his shot was deflected over the crossbar.
Fulham controlled the remainder of the match to move up to seventh in the table, earning only their third victory in eight recent London derbies.
Brentford suffered consecutive league defeats at Craven Cottage for the first time since January 1954, leaving Keith Andrews’ team in 17th place after three losses from their opening five English Premier League fixtures.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
