Whisper it quietly, but fighting Fulham ended a Premier League unbeaten run for the second weekend in succession this afternoon. Where last week Marco Silva’s side shattered Newcastle United’s promising start in some style, they showed plenty of grit to ruin Nottingham Forest’s unbeaten opening to the new season at the City Ground. The visitors were good value for a hard-fought victory – which came courtesy of Raul Jimenez’s controversial second half spot-kick – and are now undefeated in five Premier League fixtures themselves.

The City Ground’s highest crowd in more than a decade left largely disappointed as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side missed the creativity of suspended playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White with both Taiwo Awoniyi and Chris Wood spurning good chances to give the home side the lead. Awoniyi almost acrobatically punished some ponderous defending as Fulham failed to react to old boy Ola Aina’s long throw being headed on by Ryan Yates, but the striker’s bicycle kick flew just over the crossbar.

Five minutes later, the home fans thought they had taken the lead only for Wood’s bundled finish from Nikola Milenkovic’s header to be ruled out for offside after a lengthy VAR check. Fulham had enjoyed the lion’s share of possession before that but their brightest moments came through Adama Traore’s pace and power along the right flank, with one low cross flying right across the face of goal.

The visitors’ first chance arrived shortly afterwards when Jimenez linked cleverly with Alex Iwobi and Emile Smith Rowe only for the Mexican’s shot on the spin to be too close to Mats Sels at his near post. Silva’s side looked purposeful for much of the first period but struggled to mount a serious threat on the Forest goal, with a succession of half chances following a header from Joachim Andersen at the back post before Sasa Lukic dragged a shot wide of the target.

Nuno sent on Anthony Elanga for Awoniyi at half time after Andersen and Calvin Bassey had coped comfortably with the direct threat of Forest’s two centre forwards, but the game turned decisively in Fulham’s favour after the interval. The visitors were patient in their build up play before Antonee Robinson’s floated cross looked for Andreas Pereira in the box – with the Brazilian caught by his compatriot Murillo in the middle of the box. Referee Josh Smith initially waved play on until the VAR recommended a review via the pitchside monitor. Once Smith had reversed his decision and, Jimenez had seen off Pereira’s protestations to take the penalty himself, the veteran striker stroked his 50th Premier League goal beyond Sels superbly.

Nuno rung the changes with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Jota Silva coming on for Elliott Anderson and Nico Domínguez and a flurry of Forest pressure followed. Bassey produced a brilliant bit of defending to dispossess Elanga inside the area – with that challenge surviving another long VAR assessment – before Hudson-Odoi hammered a drive just over the bar after dangerously darting inside. Jota drilled a drive straight into the hands of Bernd Leno and Yates saw his stoppage-time strike hit his own player.

Fulham held on through eight added minutes but could easily have added a second of their own as both Reiss Nelson and Iwobi drove decisively down the right wing before choosing the wrong option in the final third. Jimenez came close to adding a second before being brought off to rapturous applause from the travelling supporters. The Whites might have dropped a little too deep once Issa Diop replaced Smith Rowe in the closing stages as Silva sought to hold on a slender advantage, but this was a victory for fortitude over fluency. The three points mean that the Cottagers have now matched their strongest ever start to a Premier League season, with eleven points from six games matching the return from 2003/2004 overseen by Chris Coleman.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST (4-4-2): Sels; Aina, Moreno (Williams 84), Milenkovic, Murillo; Anderson (Jota 57), Ward-Prowse (Sosa 75), Yates, Dominguez (Hudson-Odoi 57); Wood, Awoniyi (Elanga 45). Subs (not used): Miguel, Toffolo, Morato, Boly.

BOOKED: Yates, Murillo.

FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, A. Robinson, Andersen, Bassey; Lukic (Reed 83), Pereira (Berge 69); Traore (Nelson 69), Iwobi, Smith Rowe (Diop 88); Jimenez (Muniz 83). Subs (not used): Benda, Castagne, Cairney, Nelson.

BOOKED: Tete, Lukic, Leno, Reed.

GOAL: Jimenez (pen 51).

REFEREE: Josh Smith (South Yorkshire).

ATTENDANCE: 30,139.