Raul Jimenez missed a big chance late on for Fulham as Marco Silva’s side drew 0-0 at Brentford in a mid-table west London derby clash on Saturday.
The Fulham striker had only just come on as a sub when the cutback from fellow replacement Adama Traore rolled into his path but the Mexican – without a goal in 2024 – skied his shot with the goal at his mercy.
Brentford had hit the bar in the first half, when Bryan Mbeumo’s effort on the angle took a flick off Calvin Bassey, but both sides ultimately showed a lack of quality in the final third despite bringing intensity to this local rivalry. This was the first goalless draw between the sides in 20 years.
Fulham might be happier with the result, given their recent record in this fixture. They had lost six of their last seven away to Brentford but edge up to 12th in the table with this draw, while Brentford stay 16th, already safe from relegation but eight points behind their neighbours.
How it happened
These sides have little substantial to play for in the final weeks of the season but their local rivalry added an edge which was reflected by a fast start, with Alex Iwobi clipping the bar and Keane Lewis-Potter seeing a penalty appeal rightly waved away from Issa Diop’s challenge.
The home side came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half, with Mbeumo’s shot diverting off Calvin Bassey and onto the bar before Lewis-Potter wastefully fired a follow-up at Bernd Leno.
Further chances followed at both ends, with Andreas Pereira blasting over, Iwobi hitting the target and Rodrigo Muniz heading wide for the visitors, while Christian Norgaard swiped across the face of goal and Lewis-Potter forced Diop to head over his own bar after lobbing Leno. But there was a lack of sharpness in both boxes.
There was more evidence of that after the break, with Muniz heading into the ground for Mark Flekken to save and Timothy Castagne glancing over from a corner but the biggest miss came from sub Jimenez, who side-footed Traore’s cross over when he looked primed to score.
Traore was a livewire, forcing Flekken into a stop himself before showing his speed to stop Mikkel Damsgaard from breaking away. But his efforts weren’t enough to decide a tight contest, while Brentford’s late shout for a penalty, when Jimenez appeared to pull Ivan Toney’s arm at a corner was swiftly dismissed by VAR.
What’s next?
Brentford head to Bournemouth on Saturday May 11, kick-off 3pm, before finishing their season at home to Newcastle on Sunday May 19, kick-off 4pm.
Fulham host title-hopefuls Manchester City at lunchtime on May 11, kick-off 12.30pm, and then head to Luton on the final day on May 19, kick-off 4pm.
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