Raúl Jiménez's contentious penalty secured Fulham a victory at the City Ground, bringing Nottingham Forest's unbeaten Premier League start to an end. The Mexican striker netted his 50th goal in the English top flight early in the second half, following a prolonged VAR review. Forest had previously won two and drawn three of their last five matches, and their highest attendance in over a decade—30,139—was left disappointed as they failed to secure their first home league win since April. Forest's supporters were further frustrated when a second VAR decision went against them, and Fulham—now unbeaten in their last five league games—proved too strong.
The first half was largely uneventful, with neither of the Premier League's in-form teams managing to spark the game into life. Taiwo Awoniyi, making his first league start of the season, created the first chance with an improvised overhead kick that flew wide of Bernd Leno's right-hand post. Forest fans believed Chris Wood had given them the lead shortly after, but VAR confirmed the striker was offside. Fulham had enjoyed more possession and were tidy with it, but Jiménez's low shot on the turn was their first effort on target.
Awoniyi was replaced by Anthony Elanga at halftime, and moments after the restart, the game was ignited when Fulham were awarded a contentious penalty. Andreas Pereira went down under Murillo's challenge, and after reviewing the pitchside monitor, referee Josh Smith pointed to the spot. Jiménez converted his third league goal of the season in the 51st minute, much to the dismay of the home fans. Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo responded by bringing on Callum Hudson-Odoi and Jota Silva for Anderson and Nico Domínguez, but further VAR controversy followed when Elanga went down after a challenge from Calvin Bassey, which appeared to have no contact.
Hudson-Odoi was prominent as Forest chased an equaliser, but his shot went over the crossbar. Jota's well-struck volley was easily held by Matz Sels, and Ryan Yates's close-range effort hit one of his own players. Forest pressed hard during eight minutes of added time, but Fulham held firm for their first away win of the season.
