Ivan Toney spot on as Brentford sink Fulham in deserved derby victory

Life, death, taxes and Ivan Toney scoring penalties. The Brentford striker may be facing a ban of up to six months for allegedly breaking betting rules but his 22nd successful spot kick in a row ensured Thomas Frank’s side took the bragging rights in this west London derby between two of the Premier League’s over-performing clubs.

While Marco Silva’s side could have major cause to complain about the penalty being awarded by the referee Anthony Taylor after Manor Solomon had cancelled out Ethan Pinnock’s deflected opening goal with his fifth goal in successive matches, Frank will not have too much sympathy as Brentford moved to within a point of Fulham in seventh having played two games less after Mathias Jensen added a late third before Carlos Vinícius netted for the visitors deep into injury time. But after a week that saw Toney ask the Football Association to carry out an investigation into leaked reports regarding his potential punishment, the England striker did his talking with his feet as he took his season’s tally in the Premier League to 15, behind only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.

While not usually recognised as one of London’s most hostile derbies, there has been a growing rivalry between the two clubs separated by six miles ever since Fulham triumphed after extra-time at the Championship playoff final in 2020. Their only previous top-flight meeting back in August was the first victory of the season for Silva’s side as they have confounded expectations by already racking up 39 points – the highest by a promoted team after 25 matches of a Premier League season since Wigan Athletic in 2005-06.

Brentford’s incredible unbeaten run began at the end of October and they came into this match as one of only three