Fulham emerged as 3-2 winners against hosts Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday afternoon in their penultimate Premier League game of the season.
The visitors opened the scoring just after a quarter of an hour when Raul Jimenez rose highest to head home from the centre of the penalty area.
However, the Bees drew level minutes later when Bryan Mbeumo was played through inside the box on the right before finishing past Bernd Leno.
Mbeumo had the chance to give his side the lead from the spot just shy of the half-hour mark, but his stuttered run-up did not fool Leno, who dived to his left and denied him his second of the game, though his partner Wissa would head the hosts in front just before the interval.
Cottagers captain Tom Cairney managed to draw his side level shortly after the hour mark thanks to a flicked header, before winger Harry Wilson won them the game moments later after scoring from distance.
The victory means Fulham end the weekend in 10th place with 54 points, whereas Brentford are in eighth place with 55 points after 37 matchweeks.
SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT
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The Cottagers can be proud of their season given they lost key midfielder Joao Palhinha in the summer, and boss Marco Silva is sure to have admirers.
An eighth-placed finish for Fulham or Brentford could be enough to qualify for the Europa League this term if Chelsea win the Conference League and finish sixth and Newcastle finish in seventh, or if Chelsea win the Conference League and Chelsea finish seventh.
As for Brentford, boss Thomas Frank cannot surpass the club's highest points tally since returning to the top flight in 2021-22 (59), but it would not be surprising if the manager was on the radar of a number of teams looking for a new head coach.
BRENTFORD VS. FULHAM HIGHLIGHTS
16th min: Brentford 0-1 Fulham (Raul Jimenez)
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Adama Traore uses his blistering pace to get past Keane Lewis-Potter on the right flank before he hangs a cross to the centre of the box, where Jimenez gets the better of defender Nathan Collins to head home.
A powerful leap by the striker!
22nd min: Brentford 1-1 Fulham (Bryan Mbeumo)
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Wissa has the ball in Fulham's half after the visitors surrender possession needlessly, and the forward plays Mbeumo through inside the penalty area, where the attacker steadies himself before sweeping his strike into the left side of the net.
A quick response from Brentford!
27th min: Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) penalty miss
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Brentford are awarded a penalty after centre-back Joachim Andersen accidentally clips the heels of Kevin Schade, but Mbeumo's strike towards the left is saved by Leno.
That was his first miss from the spot as a Brentford player!
43rd min: Brentford 2-1 Fulham (Yoane Wissa)
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Michael Kayode sends a long throw into the Fulham penalty area, and Sepp van den Berg wins first contact and Christian Norgaard then manages to head across goal to Wissa, who cannot miss from a yard out.
68th min: Brentford 2-2 Fulham (Tom Cairney)
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Kenny Tete collects the ball on the right side of Brentford's box and his cross deflects into the path of Cairney, who flicks his header into the bottom-left corner.
Fulham are back in this!
70th min: Brentford 2-3 Fulham (Harry Wilson)
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Wilson drives from the right into a central position outside the penalty area and with no Brentford player closing him down, the winger launches a curled effort to the left of the goal and sees his strike nestle into the bottom corner of the net.
The Cottagers are ahead again!
MAN OF THE MATCH - YOANE WISSA
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Despite the fact that Wissa ended up on the losing side, he still managed to excel for the hosts on Sunday, providing an assist for his team's first and scoring the Bees' second.
The forward also completed 100% of his dribbles and made five recoveries during the match, and he was a constant threat during counter-attacks.
BRENTFORD VS. FULHAM MATCH STATS
Possession: Brentford 50%-50% Fulham
Shots: Brentford 11-16 Fulham
Shots on target: Brentford 6-7 Fulham
Corners: Brentford 5-3 Fulham
Fouls: Brentford 12-8 Fulham
BEST STATS
Today is the eighth time this season that both Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa have scored in the same Premier League match for Brentford.
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) May 18, 2025
That's two off the all-time seasonal record for two teammates scoring in the same game in the same Premier League season. pic.twitter.com/TsknPjyKpT
5 - Through Rodrigo Muniz (6) and Harry Wilson (5) this season, Fulham are the first side to see two players score 5+ goals as a substitute in the same Premier League campaign. Animators. pic.twitter.com/R276RfKlMS
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 18, 2025
WHAT NEXT?
Brentford's clash against the Cottagers was their final game at home of the 2024-25 season, and their last match of the campaign will be an away trip on May 25 against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Fulham will get to end their Premier League season in front of their fans on May 25 when they welcome Manchester City to Craven Cottage.
Lewis Nolan
