Special Yoanne shows Silva the new way forward
YOANNE WISSA showed Fulham it is possible to replace a top scorer.
The stand-in for Brentford’s banned Ivan Toney scored his second goal in two games, then won the penalty that sealed his side’s victory.
That saw the hosts reduced to 10 men, with Tim Ream shown a second yellow for what looked minimal contact on Wissa.
Fulham boss Marco Silva said: ‘‘We were surprised by the penalty and red card. The game was finished from that moment.’
But it was another Fulham departure that overshadowed their afternoon as
Silva confirmed striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has joined Saudi Arabian side Al-hilal for £46m.
Silva added: “Both clubs have an agreement. He forced everything to leave the club, he wanted to leave the club. If you ask me if it is normal? No. If you ask me if football players should behave in this way? No.
‘‘We are going to do our best to find the right player to replace him.’’
They need to. Fulham performed at a funereal pace that rarely threatened to unsettle Thomas Frank’s Bees side.
Raul Jimenez, the man tasked with filling striker Mitrovic’s boots, had a largely forgettable afternoon.
Wissa fluffed a good chance from Bryan Mbeumo’s cross before he opened the
Fulham 0 Brentford 3
scoring. Issa Diop scuffed his attempted first-time pass to
Ream and it went straight to Wissa, who rounded keeper Bernd Leno before scoring.
There was a bit more spark in Fulham after the break, and Bobby Decordova-reid struck the bar.
Brentford broke up the other end with Mathias Jensen’s shot tipped over by Leno.
Then came the penalty. Wissa looked to have fluffed his attempted shot but referee Darren Bond decided it was caused by Ream’s contact.
Bond pointed to the spot then reached for his yellow card which ended Ream’s afternoon.
Mbeumo (left) coolly slotted home his spot-kick, then grabbed a second goal in stoppage time. Brentford boss Frank said: “Such a good day for the fans.
“Local derby and we won. Very pleased for that.’’
On the penalty he added: “We were the better side at that stage so it was more than likely that we’d score.
‘‘For me it’s a penalty. He’s in front of Ream and there’s clear contact.”
FULHAM: Leno 6, Tete 7 (Muniz 86), Diop 5, Ream 6, Robinson 7, Reed 6 (Bassey 68, 6), Lukic 7, Wilson 6, Pereira 6 (Willian 68, 6), Decordova-reid 6 (Palhinha 68, 6), Jimenez 6 (Traore 86). BRENTFORD: Flekken 6, Hickey 6 (Roerslev 79, 6), Collins 7, Pinnock 7, Henry 7, Janelt 7, Norgaard 7 (Damsgaard 79, 6), Jensen 8, Mbeumo 7, Wissa 7 (Dasilva 79, 6) (Ajer 89), Schade 6 (Lewis-potter 71, 6).
MAN OF THE MATCH: MATHIAS JENSEN – full of invention and endeavour.
REF: D Bond