The Premier League saw Fulham secure a thumping 3-0 victory against Tottenham at Craven Cottage, restricting their climb to the top four standings. The successful feat involved Rodrigo Muniz putting in a superb performance by netting two goals, taking his Premier League record to seven goals in his recent seven outings. Despite the prospect of surpassing Aston Villa in the standings, Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham side ended the weekend at fifth place.
The match played out in west London saw Fulham put on a remarkable display which included a successful strike by Sasa Lukic, his season’s maiden goal which aided Marco Silva’s team to recuperate from their 2-1 loss against Wolves the previous week at Molineux.
Muniz’s excellent form was on display when he was provided an opportunity to strike just the right note. However, his initial effort was countered by Cristian Romero and a rebound from Andreas Pereira missed the right-hand post very narrowly. Romero was once again put to task, but Pereira’s short-range effort was defended leading to a robust showdown.
The match wasn’t completely one-sided, as Tottenham also had some regular close shaves to score. James Maddison after receiving a cutback from Destiny Udogie, adopted a body position indicating a far-post shot only to deceive the Fulham keeper Bernd Leno by firing towards the near post but missed.
Fulham’s relentless efforts reaped rewards when Antonee Robinson released a flawless delivery to Muniz who tactfully netted the ball in the left-hand corner. The impeccable game played by Fulham saw them double their lead post the halftime break.
Throughout the match, Fulham’s defenders had been given plenty of room, and now Timothy Castagne, a right defender, took advantage of it. He moved forward quickly, sending the ball off with a cross that Lukic caught with his thigh, having charged into the penalty area at the last moment. Caught off guard, Vicario was helpless as the ball shot past him for the second time.
The in-form striker Muniz continued his streak of impressive performance. He scrabbled for a loose ball in the penalty area, scoring his second goal before being replaced a few moments later amid a round of applause from the stadium.
Joao Palhinha was certain he’d managed a fourth goal, only for the referee, Robert Jones, to disallow it after Raul Jimenez interfered, leading to an offside decision.
The scorelines for the other games were Burnley 2 – Brentford 1 and Luton Town 1 – Nottingham Forest 1.
In a struggle to stay afloat in the Premier League, Burnley emerged victorious against Brentford with a 2-1 win at Turf Moor. Brentford played a man down for most of the match after Sergio Reguilon was shown the red card just nine minutes in, for pushing Vitinho inside the penalty area.
The quickest sending off of this Premier League season led to Burnley’s first goal. Jacob Bruun Larsen used the awarded penalty kick to take the lead as he scored from 12 yards. Burnley appeared to secure their first 2024 win, and their first victory since their 2-0 triumph over Fulham in December, after David Datro Fofana dribbled and scored from within the box taking them to 2-0. However, when Kristoffer Ajer scored with a clever header in the 83rd minute, they had to fight to keep their lead.
It looked like Brentford might manage a deathly equaliser when Shandon Baptiste’s cross fell into the goal, but Darren Bond, the referee, called a foul on Arijanet Muric, the goalkeeper. As a result, Vincent Kompany’s team clung to their win, bringing them eight points closer to safety.
In another significant match in the fight against relegation, Luke Berry’s last-minute goal resulted in a 1-1 draw for Luton against fellow bottom dwellers Nottingham Forest. Forest had taken the lead in the 34th minute when Morgan Gibbs-White delivered a floating cross to Chris Wood who finished it off with a volley.
Just prior to half-time, it appeared that Luton had managed to level the score when Teden Mengi propelled the ball into the net. However, referee Darren England promptly halted any celebrations when he spotted the ball making contact with the defender’s arm during the goal.
Forest had several opportunities to definitively secure the match, and almost netted a second goal when a close shave resulted from Anthony Elanga’s attempt being cleared from the goal line.
In a last-ditch effort during the 89th minute, Luton managed to safeguard a crucial point as Berry deftly nudged home from Reece Burke’s header within the box. This move stopped Forest from advancing far from the relegation zone and kept the three-point difference intact.