adminDraw specialists Brentford unable to cash in on second half dominance as Leno ensures Fulham clean sheet
Premier League: Brentford 0-0 Fulham
From almost the very first whistle, this frantic but well-intentioned derby seemed destined to end goalless—and so it proved.
Brentford will feel they came closest to snatching it late on, only for a superb Bernd Leno save to preserve the deadlock. In truth, this was a game of sparse, fleeting excitement.
For once, Harry Wilson couldn’t swing the match Fulham’s way. He’d scored in the previous three meetings—all wins for the Whites—but here he only managed a late half-chance, failing to connect properly with his weaker right foot after a ball was launched in from the left.
The draw gives Brentford a fifth straight league stalemate. While they remain firmly in the European qualification mix, they really could have done with turning one or two of those into wins.
There was plenty of pace and a good tempo, with both sets of fans in fine voice at the Gtech Community Stadium for this west London derby. Yet neither side could make a meaningful impact in the opposition box.
Only three points separated the teams at kickoff, though that margin was enough to place Brentford five spots higher in the table—just a whisker behind sixth-placed Chelsea. They look the likelier European contenders.
The underwhelming first half came as little surprise, given Fulham had failed to score before the break in all eight of their previous away league games. They’ve now matched an unwanted club record by making it nine.
Brentford grew more threatening as the game wore on. Dango Ouattara’s powerful shot was well seen by Leno, and Mikkel Damsgaard hooked a shot just over from Kevin Schade’s knockdown.
During Brentford’s best spell, Sasa Lukic was fortunate to avoid a second yellow for pulling back a breaking player—Keith Andrews and his players certainly thought so.
Mathias Jensen curled a free-kick toward the top corner, with Leno tipping it wide. Michael Kayode’s long flat throw nearly carved open a chance for Keane Lewis-Potter, but Leno saved brilliantly at the death to deny Ouattara from close range after Lewis-Potter had whipped the ball into the six-yard box.
Given that Brentford had a weak bench and made no substitutions, the moral victory was probably theirs—but this game won’t live long in the memory.
Brentford (4-2-3-1): Kelleher – Kayode, van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter – Yarmoliuk, Jensen – Ouattara, Damsgaard, Schade – Igor Thiago
Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno – Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon (Robinson 81) – Lukic, Cairney (Bobb 81) – Wilson, Smith Rowe (King 67), Iwobi (Chukwueze 43) – Rodrigo Muniz (Jimenez 67)
Attendance: 17,171
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