Fulham vs Nottingham Forest. Premier League.
Craven CottageAttendance24,105.
Report and free match highlights as Nottingham Forest embarrassed at Fulham with 5-0 loss; pressure increases on Forest boss Steve Cooper with fourth consecutive defeat; Alex Iwobi and Raul Jimenez both score twice with Tom Cairney adding fifth late on to move Fulham up to 12th
Thursday 7 December 2023 06:10, UK
The pressure increased on Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper as his side suffered a fourth consecutive defeat in an embarrassing 5-0 loss at Fulham.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was in the stands at Craven Cottage but left with 20 minutes remaining, with Cooper now having won just one of his last 11 games.
Forest conceded twice in four first-half minutes as Alex Iwobi tapped home in the 30th minute with Raul Jimenez smashing in the second.
The pair both scored again in the second half as Jimenez cleverly backheeled home nine minutes after the restart before Iwobi finished at the back post in the 73rd minute.
Forest's nightmare in west London worsened late on as Fulham captain Tom Cairney finished coolly, with Cooper holding his hands up apologetically to the supportive Forest fans at the final whistle.
Forest, who only had one shot on target in the dreadful defeat, remain just six points above the relegation zone, while Fulham move up to 12th.
Cooper made five changes for the visit to Fulham in search of ending a three-game losing run but it did not have the impact required in a sorry first-half display.
Fulham dominated the ball and after Andreas Pereira had hit the post from a free-kick the home side eventually took a deserved lead in the 30th minute through Iwobi.
Willian, on his 300th Premier League appearance, delivered a lovely cross to the back post that Iowbi tapped home into the bottom corner for his second league goal of the season.
Then just four minutes later Fulham doubled the lead thanks to Jimenez's clinical first-time finish inside the box as he ran onto Pereira's clever through-ball to smash past Forest goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos.
The visitors failed to muster a response as they ended the first half without a shot on target and it was no surprise to see Cooper make a double half-time substitution as Morgan Gibbs-White and Ryan Yates came on for Nicolas Dominguez and Ibrahim Sangare.
But the changes had no effect as Fulham added a third in the 54th minute with Jimenez getting his second. He once again linked up with Pereira to round Vlachodimos and finished inventively with a lovely backheel into the empty net.
Iwobi then got his second in the 73rd minute as he finished first time from Harry Wilson's cross to the back post.
The Forest fans continued to chant Cooper's name immediately after the Nigerian's goal but things got worse for the travelling support as they saw their side concede a fifth in the 86th minute.
Cairney found acres of space through the Forest defence to easily score and compound Forest's misery to leave Cooper in a difficult spot as he apologised to his fans at full-time.
Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper: "It was a painful night and a scoreline we deserve. We didn't show enough desire and will make up for it. We pulled out of tackles and lost races. If you show the lack of desire you run the risk of getting what we got tonight.
"I'm grateful [for the fans' support]. I have to take responsibility for it and it's on me. I have to take ownership for that but it's embarrassing and they don't deserve it.
"Yeah, course I do [feel like the right man to turn it around] but I probably think about that the least, but I feel about what is right about the football club.
"Technically we let ourselves down with the giveaways when there's no pressure on the ball.
"It's not something I'm thinking about [losing his job] and what's right for the football club is right for me. I haven't spoken to [the owner] since the game."
Fulham manager Marco Silva: "It was nice to see Raul score goals in the last few games. The players are more confident and Raul after he scored his goal at Villa went to Anfield and put a very good performance in.
"He's much more confident now and looks fresh. He was fantastic tonight but he was at Anfield as well. He was able to win the duels and showed unbelievable commitment.
"I knew these things would come. It is a consequence of his hard work and it's really nice to see.
"The goal at Villa was a relief for him and from that moment we've seen a much more fresh player with more confidence because of the quality he has."
Fulham have now scored 3+ goals in three consecutive Premier League matches for the first time (3 v Wolves, 3 v Aston Villa & 5 v Nottingham Forest).
Willian made his 300th Premier League appearance, becoming the first Brazilian player to reach this landmark.
Raul Jimenez has now scored three goals in his in last four Premier League appearances, the same amount as he managed in his previous 47.
The 5-0 defeat was the 10th time that Nottingham Forest have conceded 5+ goals in a single match in the Premier League.
Fulham's Alex Iwobi scored his first Premier League brace on what was his 234th appearance. He scored as many goals on Wednesday night as he did in the entirety of last season in the competition (2).
Fulham are back in action on Sunday when they host West Ham in the Premier League, kick-off 2pm. The following weekend, they travel to Newcastle on Saturday December 16, kick-off 3pm.
Nottingham Forest travel to Wolves on Saturday in the Premier League, kick-off 3pm. They will then feature on Friday Night Football on December 15 when they host Tottenham, live on Sky Sports with kick-off at 8pm.
