ALEKSANDAR MITROVIC got the last laugh over Ivan Toney with a last gasp winner in the first ever Prem meeting between Brentford and Fulham.
Toney cheekily mocked Mitrovic’s goal celebration as he looked as though he had sealed an epic fightback for the Bees with a 71 minute equaliser to make it 2-2.
It came after Fulham’s dream start of Bobby Decordova-Reid’s 50 SECOND opener and Joao Palhinha doubling the lead just 18 minutes later.
But plucky Brentford got back into it with a Christian Norgaard pulling one back on the stroke of half-time before Toney’s leveller.
Toney, who has tussled back and forth with Mitrovic for the Championship all-time scoring record, spun his hand around his ear in a nod to the Serbian’s signature Luca Toni celebration.
But he looked like a right mug as Mitrovic fired a bullet header in the dying seconds of normal time to claim bragging rights in West London.
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Outside the fan bases of Fulham and Brentford, no one realises how intense their rivalry really is.
But as soon as the first whistle blew this match full of tackles, fouls boos and discontent was a London derby alright.
The opener all began with Andreas Pereira ruthlessly pouncing on a limp pass to tee up Mitrovic who linked up with Jay Stansfield.
The 19-year-old whizkid, on his full Prem debut, cracked a shot off the bar before Decordova Reid smashed home the rebound amid a desperate scramble.
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If it hadn’t been for the heroics of David Raya the scoreline could have been a lot uglier as he kept out a string of chances from Pereira and Mitrovic before 15 minutes had gone.
The Serbia record goalscorer even slotted a Pereira free-kick into the net – but the flag went up for offside.
The hosts hit back again and Pereira whipped in another inch-perfect delivery right onto Joao Palhinha’s noggin who steered a peach of a header well beyond Raya on 19 minutes.
The combination of the summer newbies suggested Fulham may have finally got their Prem recruitment right at the third time lucky.
Tempers flared and Thomas Frank even started to lose his rag, remonstrating in the fourth official’s face.
Mitrovic missed a sitter from three-yards which once again had eyebrows raised over whether he can hack it in the Prem following his penalty miss at Wolves.
And Brentford got back into it just before the break as Norgaard ran into acres of free space and cracked home a Mathias Jensen corner.
The Bees must have felt the full wrath of fuming Frank at half-time because they looked like a new animal, nearly nicking the equaliser.
Toney latched onto a silky Rico Henry pass and twisting inside and out of Antonee Robinson before lashing a superb strike into the net.
He went to mock Mitrovic’s goal celebration but looked like a mug when VAR ruled him offside and chalked his goal off.
Despite breaking free on goal Mitrovic pinged another tame effort straight at Raya, and it was so poor the Spanish stopper laughed in his face.
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And finally Toney struck his deserved leveller by coolly sweeping home Yoane Wissa’s pull-back on 71 minutes.
But he was silenced as vintage Mitrovic steered a crisp header into the net from Kevin Mbabu’s floating cross.
Catch up with all of the action below…
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
