Fulham forward Raul Jimenez converted a second-half penalty to give Marco Silva’s side a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday, handing the hosts their first defeat of the season.

Building on last weekend’s 3-1 win over Newcastle United, Fulham climbed to sixth in the standings on 11 points after six games — their best start to a season since 2003 — while Forest, who have yet to win at home, are ninth on nine points.

Jimenez netted his third league goal of the season in the 51st minute when he beat goalkeeper Matz Sels from the spot. The penalty was awarded for a foul by Forest defender Murillo on Andreas Pereira.

“It was tough for him to come back,” Silva said of Jimenez, who suffered a serious head injury in 2020 when he was playing for Wolves and collided with Arsenal’s David Luiz.

Forest had a first-half goal by Chris Wood, which was disallowed for the offside.

The crowd protested when Anthony Elanga went down inside the penalty area in the second half following a tackle by Fulham’s Calvin Bassey. Play continued, and Forest winger Callum Hudson-Odoi flashed a shot just over the crossbar.

A VAR review determined the contact on Elanga was minimal, so no penalty was given.

Jimenez squandered an excellent chance to give the west London side a two-goal lead when Forest’s defence stopped momentarily, believing the striker was offside. No flag went up, but Jimenez fired wide.

While the game was considerably more open in the second half, neither team managed to grab the game by the scruff of the neck, with Fulham registering two shots on target to Forest’s one.

(Reuters/NAN)