Brentford missed out on a chance to break into the top six, at least for a few hours, as Fulham drew a memorable West London derby 0-0 thanks to a stunning last-minute save from Bernd Leno.
A monotonous affair almost became a reality in stoppage time when manager Dango Ouattara thought he had handed the Bees a late derby victory, only for Leno to clinch the win with a brilliant effort over the bar. Brentford were further frustrated as Nathan Collins headed home another great chance from a corner.
“The last moments are always the best,” Leno told TNT Sports after the match. “It was a difficult game. I didn’t even know if the ball went in or not, but then I saw all my mates coming towards me.
“It was a good moment and I think we deserved the point today, so that was important for us.”
That’s questionable. Although Fulham had won the previous three derbies between the two sides, they failed to get a shot on target in all of their games. Marco Silva’s side face a difficult task of reaching the European Cup with five games remaining.
The biggest chance came from Ryan Sessegnon, who scored a good first goal in the first half. In the final stages of the game, Harry Wilson, who had enjoyed some late heroics against Brentford, scored wide with his side foot after being played on the right.
Brentford had chances throughout with former head coach Thomas Frank watching from the stands. Igor Thiago, who is still one goal behind Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race, headed an early chance wide of goal, while Kean Lewis-Potter converted a golden chance with the final kick of the first half.
Thomas Frank returns to support Brentford – first appearance since being sacked by Spurs
In the second period, Mikel Damsgaard clipped from outside the box with goal in sight, and Lewis Potter’s goal bounce from Michael Cayode’s long throw hit Thiago. The Bees then missed two golden chances to seal the win in stoppage time through Ouattara and Collins.
Brentford have drawn for the fifth year in a row, leaving them level on points with Chelsea in sixth place, but the teams below them have been given a chance to move above them into seventh place, which is good enough for European football next season.
Fulham, who lost Alex Iwobi to a hamstring injury in the first half, could drop to 14th in the table by the weekend.
More to come…
