Jimenez bags from the spot as Fulham beat Nottingham Forest
The Cottagers immediately went out in search of an opener with Adama Traoré’s cross forcing Matz Sels to awkwardly tip the ball over the crossbar.
It wasn’t too long until things started to even out again, with Forest getting on the ball, although Elliot Anderson’s effort from the edge of the box was deflected harmlessly wide.
Taiwo Awoniyi almost marked his first PL start of the campaign with an eye-catching goal as his acrobatic attempt sailed marginally off-target.
His strike partner Chris Wood just about got the ball over the line shortly before the half-hour mark when Ola Aina’s ball towards the back post was headed across goal for the striker to prod it forward, although the New Zealand international was marginally offside.
Emile Smith Rowe and Ryan Yates then sent an attempt apiece wide during a scrappy half in which Fulham struggled to break down the hosts.
They still came close moments before the break, with Traoré and Smith Rowe each seeing a strike blocked.
The Cottagers didn’t have to wait long after the restart for their opportunity to go ahead as Murillo fouled Andreas Pereira.
The Brazilian argued that he should have taken the penalty he’d won, but Jiménez took the ball and confidently stuck it past Sels to become the second-ever Mexican to reach 50 PL goals.
There was a period where the match was end-to-end with Callum Hudson-Odoi looking bright off the bench as the Tricky Trees searched for an equaliser, although the winger fired off-target after cutting inside.
Joachim Andersen then made a brilliant header to prevent James Ward-Prowse’s cross from causing any danger before Jiménez placed the ball wide at the other end.
Jota Silva then hit a nice volley but it went straight at Bernd Leno, before Fulham looked to slow the game down on the way to extending their unbeaten run in the PL to five matches while also recording their first back-to-back league wins this term.
The Cottagers also inflicted Forest’s first PL defeat of the campaign.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Joachim Andersen (Fulham)
